


Roy in Wonderland

by Auragongal



Category: Alice In Wonderland - Lewis Carroll, Hunting of the Snark - Lewis Carroll, 魔界王子と魅惑のナイトメア | Makai Ouji to Miwaku no Nightmare | Court of Darkness (Visual Novel)
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-28
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-09 17:55:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 24,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27760366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Auragongal/pseuds/Auragongal
Summary: A strange dream, students disappearing and Roy thinking he was losing his mind as he tried to figure out what was going on.Then, a white rabbit appearedon school grounds compelling the Prince of Invidia to give chase. The next thing he knows, Roy is brought to a strange world with a girl calling herself Mouse, and also four other unique characters as they travel through a Fog-ridden Wonderland on a mission to get Roy back to Saligia.But, will he even want to leave this place after enough time passes?
Comments: 3
Kudos: 4





	1. The Dream

It was an unusual dream for Prince Roy Invidia.

It had started simply enough, with him dreaming of having tea with his beloved Jessica Scott- the woman with wine-red eyes smiling and laughing as he proposed to her amidst his kingdom’s most beautiful flowers. Everything felt right to him at that moment, how things were supposed to be- just him and his beloved Jessica, together at last. No need to worry about the other Princes fighting over her, for he had won her heart, he was certain of it!

However, before he could get an answer, he suddenly found himself in a hallway of blue glass suspended in a black void.

“Where am I?” he asked, but got no answer as he realized he was all alone but that did not stop him from calling out to the most important people in his life, “Jessica? Grayson? Sherry? Where is everyone?”

All he could do, when no answer came was walk down the hallway, hoping to find answers as his footsteps echoed on the glass, his reflection repeating endlessly on the walls as well. As he moved, his footsteps felt heavy and sluggish though he was sure he was running at full speed, and his vision grew fuzzy in places as well as he tried to keep going in his dream.

That is when he saw the shadows ahead of them, he couldn’t make out a word that they were saying, but he could tell they were panicking as they tried to look for answers about what was going on.

Then, one of the shadows disappeared, followed by a buzzing sound. The other shadows were still for a moment before one that looked like a girl fell to her knees and began to cry out a name he didn’t recognize or make out. As Roy moved closer to the shadows, more and more of them vanished with that infernal buzzing until he was at where they had stood, with only the crying shadow remaining.

 _“S…sorry. So… sorry. I… damn book!”_ was all he could make out, before the crying girl also vanished, leaving Roy all alone.

“A book?” he said to himself in confusion, before he started to hear that buzzing again. Then, he felt like his body was being slowly torn apart. He never experienced pain like this before and wanted to wake up. He tried to wake up but he found he couldn’t. All he could feel was pain as the buzzing around him grew louder and louder.

 _“Stop!”_ he heard a girl cry out before the buzzing did as she commanded. The voice was small and quiet, but as he crumpled to the floor, letting the pain subside he soon looked up to see a pair of bright blue eyes staring back at him, though he could see nothing else as everything went dark.

The dream had ended, and Roy found himself lying in his bed again, his heart racing as his body was covered in a dull ache.

 _What was that dream?_ He thought to himself as he slowly sat up and looked out the window of his room. Upon seeing the red moon of Saligia still outside surrounded by stars, he realized that it was still late at night when Grayson entered the room.

“Master Roy, is everything alright?” the graying haired valet then asked, “I heard screaming.”

“Nothing, it was just a nightmare,” Roy said as he recalled how vividly his pain was in his sleep, “A very realistic one to be honest.”

“I see,” Grayson said with a nod while doing his best to keep things professional between him and his charge, “Well, since it was only a nightmare, perhaps it is nothing to worry about.”

“I certainly hope so,” Roy said as he laid back down and closed his eyes, feeling that enough time had passed to safely fall back asleep.

His dreams were peaceful the rest of the night, and he never saw the strange glass hallway and the bright blue eyes again that night.


	2. Shadows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The day after his nightmare, Roy finds himself seeing some shadows as he tries to go about his day... but it seems that there's something else going on as well...

Morning had come to the Island of Colde, and Roy Invidia felt tired due to a dreamless sleep after his nightmare the previous evening. He got up and dressed in his princely attire, from his dark pink trousers to his white shirt with silver accents, to his white and pink cape draped on his shoulders. Overall, he was the perfect prince in image, and personally, he wanted to be that way himself as he pinned his family’s crest to his shirt.

It was as he was doing this, however, that something odd happened. Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw the shadow of a little girl with long hair sitting on the chair behind him. Of course, when he turned to see what was there, he saw nothing and shook his head in confusion.

“I’m probably still half-asleep,” he said as he yawned and rubbed his eyes. As he looked around and saw that Grayson wasn’t around, he assumed his valet was tending to his sister, Sherry. Not a bad thing, in his opinion, but he did have to wonder sometimes how Grayson felt being a valet to two people at once.

In any event, once he made his tousled pink tipped with blond hair was presentable, he headed out the door to awaken Lynt Akedia, his friend and sleepiest of his fellow S-Rank students at the Academy.

Though the walk to Lynt’s dorm room was normally short, Roy couldn’t help but feel like something was off this morning. But, as he glanced at the walls, he thought he saw more shadows than his own, which was rather strange since as far as he was aware, he was the only one in the area. Turning his head to get a better look, the shadows dispersed, leaving his own alone on the wall.

Probably nothing to worry about.

As he knocked on the door to Lynt’s room, he was met with the sleepy prince wearing his usual green and white ensemble, even the magnificent dark green cloak he wore- and occasionally napped in- was comfortably wrapped around his body.

“Morning,” Lynt said sleepily as he yawned, with Roy fighting off the urge to do so in return. While Roy was friends with the prince of Akedia, the Invidian Prince tended to feel more like he was always fussing over the sleepy young man half the time- a sentiment he probably shared with Tino, who tended to him full time as Lynt’s valet, though the kindhearted older man never complained, to Roy’s knowledge.

As the two princes walked to their lecture hall, Roy was silent and deep in thought as he couldn’t stop thinking about that nightmare he had the previous evening. He had never seen that glass hallway before in his life, nor did he know of any way he could have imagined such a frightening place. What’s more, those shadows and what he barely managed to remember worried him. Who were they and what book was the crying shadow talking about? Was there perhaps a failed ritual somewhere in Saligia that somehow affected him? But if so, why him in the first place? And what was with the buzzing he heard as people vanished? In fact, the biggest mystery of all was the owner of the last thing he saw in his nightmare- the bright blue eyes. She- at least it sounded like a girl, had told whatever it was that was tearing him apart to stop, and whatever it was that had hurt him followed her command.

As he thought of the bright blue eyes, he thought of the only person he knew that had them, Lou the Headmaster, but quickly wrote him off as the person who saved him due to the fact that the voice that went with the eyes he saw was definitely female. Perhaps whoever saved him was a relative of the illustrious headmaster? It was possible, but then again, he didn’t think Lou was the type to have a family hidden away somewhere.

“My, my,” a voice then said, drawing Roy out of his thoughts, causing him to see Fenn exit his room just as Roy glimpsed a shadow of a tall man in a top hat walk by them, “You’re looking a little out of it today, did something happen?”

“I’m fine,” Roy said as he expertly hid his annoyance at the purple-clad prince before him, “I just had a poor night’s sleep, that’s all.”

“Oh my!” Fenn then said before the annoying prince of Luxure got that ever-hungry gleam in his eye as he added, “You weren’t up all night thinking about Treasure, were you?”

Heavens to hexes did this man annoy him! Roy knew full well who Fenn was talking about as well- Jessica Scott, the newest student at the Academy, who was enrolled a mere few weeks ago by the Illustrious Headmaster himself. Of course, himself and the other four S-Rank students were aware of Miss Scott’s true origins of being from another world, but due to having to keep that a secret, Roy and the other Princes had to not only avoid talking about it in case someone overheard them, but also downplay the otherworld's apparent gift to amplify the magic of others.

Of course, that didn’t stop Roy and his fellow royals from occasionally fighting over Jessica’s heart, though he couldn’t fully grasp why that was.

Probably nothing to worry about, all that mattered was him trying to do whatever he could to let Jessica choose him over the others.

 _“Miss Jessica_ ,” he said a little tersely, “had nothing to do with why I slept poorly last night.”

This was true, in a sense, though that impish look Fenn had made him want to punch the Luxure Prince’s face in.

No, no, that wouldn’t do for Roy to do something like that. He had an image to maintain as the Perfect Prince after all and had to remember that fighting was forbidden at the Academy.

“I see,” Fenn almost purred out, “So perhaps another girl has taken your fancy?”

“Not likely,” Roy said, while a glance at Lynt caused him to sigh as he remembered that the Akedian prince disliked conflict, “In any case, we should be getting to class- it would not do for us to be late, Fenn.”

“Alas, you’re right,” Fenn said with a sigh as he leaned on his ever-present cane before turning on his heel and walking towards the classroom ahead of them, but not before adding “In any case, do try to see the Headmaster in case something’s wrong.”

“Don’t worry, I will,” Roy said politely, though he was pretty sure the headmaster wouldn’t bother with a simple nightmare.

~0~

The class itself was the same as usual- Professor Hawke lecturing them on advanced magical techniques while the princes of Avari and Qelsum were trying to one-up each other. All in all, it was business as usual and now Roy was on his way to play professor for the lower-ranked students.

In the Academy, students were split into four ranks- C, B, A, and S. The S-ranks like Roy were capable of using Ancient Magic, the only known magic that could affect the mind. A-Ranks were powerful, but could not use Ancient Magic, B-Ranks were average students and the C-ranks could only use magic in theory, but most C-rank students tended to have problems. Occasionally, a C-rank student who didn’t show signs of improvement would be asked to leave the Academy, though thankfully it seemed none had left yet this year.

Of course, as an S-rank student, Roy was obligated to teach the rest of the students at the Academy along with the other four S-rank students, and this was a role Roy took pride in. He felt he was an excellent teacher, and while he had his fans, he trusted them to not do anything rash for his attention.

Still, there was one student among the C-ranks that Roy had his eye on, and that was Jessica Scott. He found himself having fallen hard and fast for Jessica, even orchestrating a wonderful date on his part to show the otherworldly girl the town around the Academy. He thought it went pretty well, though she wasn’t as accepting of expensive clothes as he thought she’d be which happened to be something to keep in mind for the future. Still, he enjoyed having tea with her at his favorite coffeehouse, and while the date ended on a bit of a sour note, he swore he’d try again when the opportunity presented itself.

After all, the perfect prince needed a princess, and while Jessica wasn’t of royal blood as far as he was aware, he felt that she could at least learn to be like a princess while at the Academy.

Of course, as he headed down the stairs to the lower rank lecture hall, Roy thought he saw the shadow of a woman in a ball gown search for something before she too vanished like the other shadows he had seen that day, and his thoughts went to the shadows that nearly got him in trouble during his own S-rank lecture that morning- ranging from rabbits to mice, to birds and people to even creatures he couldn’t identify. He didn’t know what these shadows were and why only he could see them and assumed he was hallucinating all of them due to stress.

It was difficult, maintaining the image he cultivated for so long.

As he turned the corner, he soon saw Jessica talking with another student, while he was happy that she was socializing more after being at the Academy of Concordia for a month, he also couldn’t help but take in her beauty that day- she wore a simple blue dress with her hair in a loose bun. Of course, as her wine red eyes were thanks to the magic stone resting on the choker around her neck. Of course, she had to wear hers at all times due to the nature of her power, and as all students wore their Sigillum Arcanum as accessories- including the S-Ranks, there were no questions raised about it.

However, Roy couldn’t help but think of the true color of Jessica’s eyes, the jet black that was unheard of in the world of Saligia. To him, those eyes were something beautiful, just as he felt Jessica was beautiful- her kind heart, her wit, her charisma and allure… even the bit of grace she had as well. Of course, there was also her fiery personality to speak of as well whenever she spoke her mind! To Roy, Jessica Scott was the loveliest woman he’d ever met, and he felt that one day, he’d try to make her his paramour.

But, even if she didn’t choose him, he wanted her to be happy with whoever she did end up choosing as her lover.

As he moved closer to the two women, Jessica glanced over and waved at him with a smile, though the other student seemed like her mind was elsewhere as she turned with a worried look on her face.

“Need I remind you that class will be starting soon?” he said with his princely smile, causing the two girls to flinch as they realized that they may be late, and so the other girl ran off while Jessica was about to leave when Roy spoke to her again, “Actually, would you allow me to escort you, Miss Jessica?”

“Of course, Roy!” Jessica then said with a smile, and so the two students walked to class together, though Roy was curious about something.

“Pardon me for prying, but what were you speaking about with that other student? She seemed worried about something,” he then asked, while Jessica sighed and played with the loose bun in her hair.

“She was worried about her friend, Mary Ann,” said Jessica, “Apparently, Mary Ann just vanished in the night, maybe it was an expulsion, but… the weird thing was that all of Mary Ann’s things were still here at the academy.”

“That’s strange…” Roy said, “I didn’t hear about anyone being asked to leave lately… However, if I see the Illustrious Headmaster I’ll be sure to ask about it.”

“We both know that the Headmaster is hard to find,” Jessica said with a sigh, “Maybe ask Professor Hawke about it instead?”

“Of course I will,” Roy said, remembering that the Headmaster, Lou, tended to be in and out of the office at random times. However, as Jessica looked at the Invidian Prince, Roy couldn’t help but see her worried expression.

“Are you alright?” she then asked, “You don’t look so good today.”

“I’m fine,” Roy said, doing his best to ignore the shadow of the man in the top hat wagging his finger, “I just didn’t sleep well last night.”

“Well, try and get some rest when you can,” Jessica then said, just as they made it to the classroom, “There’s no telling what might happen after that dragon attacked the ball the headmaster held shortly after I arrived.”

That was true, Roy had heard about the incident and wasn’t able to help out in the battle that ensued, but if a dragon was attacking the Academy in an attempt to make off with Jessica as the other four princes had claimed, then there really was no telling what else may happen to try and get to her. In all honesty, that incident raised plenty of questions about the situation at hand, as Jessica’s powers and origin were supposed to be kept secret. So, if a student suddenly disappeared… then it was worrisome about what the kidnapper’s goal might have been.

Personally, Roy hoped that this wasn’t another attempt to take Jessica away from Academy Grounds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, I'm the writer of the fic, obviously. So, I'll admit, it was a little difficult writing in Roy's POV when his route hasn't dropped yet for the English release of the game. But, hopefully, I'll do my best to do what I can with what I've seen of Roy in the game so far.
> 
> But yeah, at the moment, Main Story is going on in this fic, and the MC, Jessica, hasn't selected her Prince yet. Mainly because I haven't decided which route gets attention in this story. 
> 
> Anywho, Reason why I picked Roy is simple.
> 
> Lynt, while the only route I've played through at the time of this writing (11/30/2020), probably wouldn't be bothered to go through the whole Alice in Wonderland treatment, and so he was out of the running before it could start.
> 
> Fenn, I've only seen as a tease and a troll, and honestly couldn't think of anything to do with him. Same with Guy, minus the tease and troll part. 
> 
> Toa... well, at the time plotting started, his route was JUST released so I didn't know much about him.
> 
> Which left Roy, plus, he seemed the most interesting of the princes, so... yeah.
> 
> Anyway, the reason this chapter is here instead of Roy going straight to Wonderland is because I wanted to see him go through a... mostly normal day before the next chapter.
> 
> Which brings us to what will happen next time- Roy sees the White Rabbit and if you read Alice in Wonderland, you'll know what will happen next.


	3. White Rabbit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a meeting with the Illustrious Headmaster, Roy sees a white rabbit and gives chase.

It was late at night at the academy. However, as Roy stood before the Headmaster’s office with his valet, Grayson, he honestly couldn’t help but feel a little apprehensive. He honestly didn’t expect to be called there by Lou’s familiar, the bird-like Nix, and when he pressed for information, all he could gather was that the Headmaster wished to speak to him in private.

In other words, Roy was probably going to be talking to the Headmaster for a good while about something he might have missed.

“Wait here for me, Grayson,” Roy then said to his valet, the man with graying hair nodding and giving a proper bow to his charge. Then, Roy entered the office and saw the illustrious headmaster Lou on the settee in the back of the room.

“I’m here, Headmaster,” Roy then said as the kindly looking man in white robes nodded towards Roy as the prince continued, “What did you wish to speak to me about?”

As the headmaster’s brilliant blue eyes gazed at him in silence, a kindly smile appeared on his face.

“From my observations of the school,” he said quietly, “It seems that you’ve been slipping in your schoolwork the past few days, is everything alright, Roy?”

So, even the Headmaster had noticed that he’d been off lately. Sighing, the prince then shook his head and sat down in an offered chair across from the headmaster, before he started to explain what was going on. There was no use in hiding it at the moment, especially when the headmaster might be able to help him.

“I’ve been plagued by nightmares and hallucinations lately,” Roy admitted as he got straight to the point.

“What do you mean?” Lou asked with his eyes wide as he adjusted his monocle.

“Lately, I have been having nightmares of some other land I don’t recognize,” Roy began to explain, “I don’t recognize any of what I have seen, nor do I know how I’m able to imagine such a thing so vividly. However, while I’m awake I have been seeing shadows everywhere I go. It started with a couple but as the days went on the sightings have become more frequent.”

“I see, that is quite alarming,” Lou frowned, “However, this combined with the recent disappearances is also something to worry about.”

“So, those three missing students were not expelled?”

“Indeed they were not! I’m as concerned about the missing students as you are, if something has gotten past the wards around the academy grounds again, then the whole student body may be in danger.”

Now there was a frightening thought. What could possibly be strong enough to get past the wards around the Academy so soon after they were repaired due to the dragon incident? And what’s more, the method to those disappearances had managed to somehow slip past the Headmaster’s observations. As for the missing students, there were currently three- Mary Ann and Lori, the two C-Ranks that vanished first, and the most recent disappearance just a mere four days later- a B-rank named Hatta. While Roy knew that the former two were improving enough to become B-rank students, he didn’t really know much about Hatta other than the fact that he studied hard in his classes.

In all honesty, he didn’t really know what the connection between the three students could even be, and neither did the Headmaster, as Roy observed him deep in thought.

Before he could ask a question, however, the headmaster decided to ask one of his own.

“Can you tell me about when these nightmares started?”

Roy nodded as he answered, “Yes, sir. It began with the first nightmare, which took place in a hallway made of blue glass in a black void. I was alone at first before I saw about four shadows ahead of me before they vanished one by one. Each vanishing was accompanied by buzzing, and one of the shadows mentioned a book from what little I could make out. Next thing I know, I felt like I was being torn apart when I heard a female voice yell “Stop!” and the pain I felt vanished like it was nothing.”

“Did you see anything else in that dream?” Lou asked, clearly intrigued by the prince’s recollections.

“Yes, sir, a pair of bright blue eyes that was roughly as bright as your own.”

“Well, I don’t have any relatives that I’m aware of,” Lou said with a chuckle, “So I do not know who those blue eyes could belong to. Perhaps, it was someone you imagined to come to save you?”

“Maybe so,” Roy said with a sigh, “But that does not truly explain the shadows I started seeing the following morning.”

“Indeed it does not,” Lou agreed, “Can you tell me anything about these shadows?”

Roy nodded again, “There are several, some monsters I do not recognize, others animals I do such as rabbits and mice. Finally, there are at least four people I can identify as individuals.”

“Tell me about these people.”

“The first one I saw was a little girl with long hair,” Roy began to explain, “she does not do much but sit around and stare, I think. Then, there’s the woman in the ball gown that’s searching for something, though I know not what it could possibly be. Third, there’s a man in a top hat that occasionally wags his finger at me as if chastising me for some slight. Finally, there’s the one I call The Queen due to the crown she wears on her head. The Queen is the newest shadow I’ve seen, and she seems to frighten the others off before going on her way.”

“Do you see any shadows now?”

Roy glanced around the room, at first not seeing anything, before spotting something on the eastern wall, and sighed as he gave a weary nod.

“Eastern wall some sort of… creature I can’t identify that’s got the ears and tail of a cat, but the feet and wings of a bird of some kind,” he said as he examined the shadow before it scampered away, “It just left through the window.”

“I didn’t see anything,” Lou said in concern as he cupped his chin in his hand, “However, the fact that you can see these things is perhaps a sign of stress?”

“I honestly pray it is,” Roy agreed, “Though… there has been something else happening to me for the past couple of days.”

“What could it be?” Lou asked.

“I’ve… been hearing a faint buzzing. It is not too bad, but occasionally it feels like I cannot understand what people are saying around me.”

“I---“ Lou began, but as Roy clutched his head, the headmaster’s expression changed to one of worry before that infernal buzzing started up again. Why was he hearing it? What was going on?

There were so many questions he could ask, and that blasted buzzing was making it hard to think.

“Roy!” Lou finally said clearly just as the buzzing stopped for the moment, “Are you alright?”

“I… I think I’m fine for now,” the prince then sighed, “The buzzing happened again.”

“I see,” Lou said gravely, “Roy, I know you might not want this, but I think you need a break in your studies. Feel free to return to your dorm and take about a week off from class with my permission. If the shadows and buzzing continue after a week, please let me know.”

“Yes sir, thank you,” Roy said rather tiredly as Lou smiled at the Invidian Prince before he spoke again.

“You’re dismissed, please get some rest.”

“Thank you again, Headmaster,” Roy said as he stood up and left the office. In silence, he nodded to Grayson and they began their walk back to Dorm Tradis, where the female students and the S-ranks were housed. Roy was tired and he knew that it showed, and he wished he could have some sleep for once, but worried his dreams would become so surreal that it wouldn’t be possible.

From the strange locales such as giant mushroom forests to castles decorated with hearts, to even people painting white roses red! He’d never interacted with the scenes directly and instead felt more like he was watching scenes play out as a spirit of sorts, though he couldn’t make sense of what was going on in the slightest at times. And that was what he could manage to remember from his dreams, as something seemed to keep happening to turn his dreams into a nightmare, though what it was he could never recall.

It was while he was trying to remember what event turned his dreams into nightmares that something rushed by him and his Valet, causing Roy to look around and spot the confused expression on Grayson’s face. Getting a bad feeling about what was to come, he then turned to face the direction the sudden gale went and saw something that made him sigh.

“I must be losing my mind but,” he said to his valet, “do you see a white rabbit wearing a pink and yellow waistcoat in front of us?”

“No sir,” Grayson said, causing Roy to sigh again.

“Of course you cannot,” he then said, before doing his best to ignore the rabbit and just move on his way. However, when he got close to the rodent, he found his legs taking on a life of their own as when the rabbit bolted, he found himself going after it against his will.

Heavens to hexes this was turning into a tiring night!

As Roy’s body ran, he could hear Grayson chase after him, and as he tried to fight against whatever was controlling his body, tried to force himself to stop, he found that his limbs wouldn’t respond. It was as if something compelled him to chase this rabbit, and as far as he knew, the only thing that could affect a mind like this was Ancient Magic, which was supposed to be forbidden from use at the Academy.

But, who or what would want to use it on him? More importantly, as he barely noticed his sister Sherry and Jessica in his field of vision as he passed them by, he wondered just why this rabbit was the focus. Was it the caster’s familiar? If so, then whoever was using magic on him was most likely quite powerful as only those with great potential could have a familiar.

He turned a corner and soon found himself entering the courtyard, a quick glance behind him letting him realize that he’d managed to run fast enough to lose sight of Grayson and anyone else that may have followed him in his unwilling chase. He looked around and found himself alone with the rabbit in front of him again, and once again he heard buzzing in his ears. As the noise grew louder, he clutched his head in pain as he tried to speak, unable to feel relief that his body was responding to his will again.

“What is going on!?” he said with his teeth clenched before he finally heard something between the buzzing.

 _Help me!_ He heard a voice cry out, causing him to realize that it might be coming from the rabbit as it made eye contact with him.

What in the devildom was going on!?

“Wh-what?” he managed to stammer out as the buzzing continued in his head, “Did… did this rabbit just speak?”

_Kind of. Complicated. Also late. Very late. Need help!_

“Need help with what?” Roy then managed to ask, before realization hit him, “Were you involved with the disappearances?”

He could barely make out footsteps behind him growing louder as the buzzing weakened.

_Sorry! No Choice! Home in danger!_

That was all he managed to hear before the ground beneath him started to melt away. He tried to move but he found his legs stuck in place as he started to sink. Then he looked over his shoulder and saw his valet trying to run towards him as well as the shocked expressions on Sherry and his beloved Jessica.

Then, the hole grew wider and he found himself falling faster with a shout as he tried and failed to reach for the edge to try and hold on, just as Grayson had managed to reach the hole and reach out to him. He tried to grab onto Grayson’s hand and failed while he fell further and further away. The hole above him closed as someone pulled Grayson away from the hole before it sealed itself shut. Then, his body turned and he found himself falling through a realm full of different mirrors, all showing different scenes that he didn’t recognize. He watched people that were strangely dressed go about their day, looking at something in their hands while out in public.

His descent slowed and he felt like he was floating in the void as his mind started to grow fuzzier and fuzzier. As his amber eyes looked around, trying to find something to use to climb up, he thought he heard a bang followed by shattering glass but couldn’t make out where it was coming from.

Then, all went dark for the prince.

~0~

For Jessica, she honestly hadn’t expected to see Roy run past her and her friend, Sherry Invidia on their way back to their dorm. As the brunette looked at the pink-haired young lady by her side in confusion, followed by seeing Grayson run past them calling out to his master, the two girls knew full well that something was wrong.

So, they joined in the chase, only to reach the Anterior Courtyard just as Roy was swallowed up by a hole in the ground. As her wine-red eyes glanced at Sherry, she could see her friend’s amber eyes wide in horror as she collapsed to the ground in shock, tears welling up as the woman in the white and pink dress looked to Grayson in silence for answers. Jessica herself ran in as the hole started to close, pulling Grayson away before it shut itself on his arm and probably remove it in the process. After that, all they could do was watch as Grayson pounded on the ground in anger while the moon shone down on them all.

“Miss Sherry, Miss Jessica,” Grayson then said quietly as he stood up and did his best to keep composed despite recent events, “We need to speak to the Headmaster, immediately.”

Jessica didn’t have a chance to say anything as she was herded towards the Headmaster’s office with Sherry in tow, though one thought did go through her mind that she knew she couldn’t say out loud.

Just what the absolute hell had happened to Roy!?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so, I actually had to replan this chapter to be honest.
> 
> Originally, the chapter would have featured all the S-rank students in their lounge going over homework before the rabbit causes a gale to pop up in the room. Roy was going to see the rabbit, and chase it with Fenn, which would have led to Fenn being the witness and then going on his merry way to find Jessica.
> 
> I am so glad I replotted it to this, and I got to thank my fellow fan, zariaxminju for helping me write this by making me question Grayson and his motives. So thanks there!
> 
> Anywho, next time we start a three-chapter mini-arc set in a place made out of mirrors, and it begins with Roy meeting another girl...


	4. Looking Glass Way

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roy awakens in an unknown location, and meets a timid girl...

It was cold.

That was the first thing that entered Roy’s mind as he regained consciousness. As he opened his eyes, he soon realized he was laying on his side on the floor.

“Where… am I?” he groaned out, but as he looked at his reflection below him, he found that it was hard to think thanks to the buzzing in his ears. He knew his name was Roy, that much was for sure, but at the moment, he couldn’t quite recall what he was doing before he woke up in this place.

As his reflection’s amber eyes stared back at him, he noticed that there was something off about them, but he couldn’t figure out what it was. He felt like he lost something, but for the life of him couldn’t remember what it could be.

It was quite infuriating, to say the least.

As he furrowed his brow, doing his best to ignore the buzzing in his ears, images went through his mind, but they were fuzzy as he tried to piece together who or what they were to him. It as if what he lost was something important, but wasn’t sure why it was important. As the buzzing grew worse, he groaned in pain as he turned away from his reflection and looked upward to see various floating mirrors of different styles and sizes floating around a black void. He didn’t think he’d ever been in such a room before, and as he stood up and straightened out his clothes, he couldn’t help but feel like something was amiss.

The buzzing he heard had once again made it hard to figure out why that was.

“Just what is going on?” he asked himself, though no one answered him as he looked around the chamber. Was it a chamber? Or was it a hall? He couldn’t think which might be the answer to that one, and felt was like he needed to be prepared for something, anything, but couldn’t figure out why or what it was he should be prepared for.

That was when his eyes locked onto someone nearby- it looked like a girl with brown hair in twin buns and a ponytail, sparking a bit of recognition in Roy as a name entered his thoughts through that infernal buzzing.

“Jessica?” he said as he walked closer, his mind feeling like it was in a fog as he moved ever closer to the girl, only to find that she seemed to be on the small side, and while her hair was also a different shade of brown then Jessica’s- more chocolate in shade, rather than the golden brown that his beloved had.

Still, as he moved to gently nudge the girl, the buzzing in his head grew louder, as if in warning about something.

Why? Was this girl a danger to him? She didn’t seem to be such a thing; in fact, the girl on the cold glass floor seemed to be a bit pitiful now that he had a good look at her. As a result of this, he reached out to gently shake her awake.

The moment his fingers brushed against her shoulder, a bright light nearly blinded him, causing him to pull back in surprise.

“What… what was that light?” he said to himself before he realized that the buzzing had stopped. In fact, he could now remember who he was and what had happened to him. When he looked up and saw what seemed to be an endless void above him when he remembered a rabbit hole before, he wondered just how far he fell as he recalled the hole closing after a while.

That was when he remembered who had witnessed him falling through the hole. His sister, his valet, and even the woman he had fallen in love with were all probably worried sick about him! He needed to find a way back to them, but how?

If he could fly with his magic, then perhaps he could find the spot where he fell in from, but as the floating mirrors orbited around the chamber, that would probably make things difficult. Not to mention that the girl he found might be a missing student as well, now that he thought about it.

As he looked back to the girl, he noticed that she was dressed a bit strangely- a pale blue skirt going down to her ankles, a white turtleneck, and a purple jacket with white embroidery on the sleeves and back. In fact, the back design looked kind of like a grinning cat now that he had a chance to examine her a little better. In fact, as he moved closer to her, he noticed that she seemed to be on the small side, possibly even shorter than his sister, Sherry, and wondered briefly how old this girl even was.

She then let out a small groan as she awoke from her slumber, causing Roy to catch a glimpse of brilliant blue eyes as she sat up and sleepily rubbed her eyes. He thought about his dream he had at the start of this mess he was now in, and how it ended with him seeing a pair of eyes much like the girl’s own. Was it a coincidence that he was seeing them now? Or was there a reason he saw those eyes in the first place?

“Where am I?” the girl then said in confusion, before looking around to see all the mirrors around them both.

“I’m not sure,” Roy said, getting the girl’s attention, “I woke up here only a little while ago, to be honest.”

“Yeep!” the girl squeaked, before scrambling away from the prince, much to his surprise, “D-Don’t hurt me!”

“Why would I hurt you?” Roy asked, genuinely confused as he stepped closer to the girl, “I am as lost as you are.”

“O-Oh, s-sorry,” the girl stuttered out before she stood up and introduced herself, “M-My name is M-Mouse, n-nice to m-meet you.”

Mouse? Now that was a strange name to hear. Who would name a child Mouse? Well, it was possible it was a pseudonym, but why would she use one in the first place? Maybe she was hiding from someone or something? That was a good reason to hide but he just didn’t know this girl at all so he couldn’t be sure of what was happening to either of them.

Still, he felt it would be rude to comment about it, so he instead chose to pursue a different subject.

“My name is Roy,” the prince said, deciding to hide his identity for now, just in case she wasn’t what she seemed to be. He wasn’t sure that Mouse was hostile, but one could never be too careful as a member of royalty like he was. He just had to protect his identity sometimes to avoid being kidnapped after all, as well.

“Um, n-nice to meet you, R-Roy,” Mouse stuttered out again, though she smiled a little awkwardly as well. Was she trying to be polite? He didn’t know for sure, but he had to admit that this girl seemed pretty harmless.

“Do you remember how you got here?” he then asked, causing Mouse to nod nervously as she played with her ponytail as it rested on her shoulder.

“I-I was r-running away fr-from someone,” she stammered out, causing Roy’s brow to furrow in worry, “I r-ran into an alleyway w-with a mirror in it, and a-as I got closer t-to it, I-I heard a bang and n-next thing I know I w-was f-falling through it and en-ended up here.”

Roy listened to her stammering and while he was able to figure out her story, he couldn’t help but ask another question.

“What were you running away from?”

She paled at the question before she quickly turned away. Was she lying about running away? No, that wasn’t the face of someone caught in a lie, that was outright fear in her eyes.

“I-I-I d-don’t want to s-s-say!” she then stuttered out, causing Roy to realize that this girl might be in a bad situation.

“Are you in trouble of some kind?” he then asked, causing the girl to nod sheepishly, “Will you tell me what it is? I might be able to help.”

She shook her head before she added, “N-No, i-it’s best y-you d-don’t know. I-I don’t want you h-hurt a-as well.”

Hurt? That was certainly a word he didn’t expect. Why would anyone hurt either of them? Was she really in trouble? And why would she go out of her way to keep it to herself in order to protect him? Sure, she was dressed similarly to Jessica when he first met her in Saligia but this girl could just be in a disguise of some sort to gain his trust.

 _Where did that thought come from?_ he wondered. Mouse didn’t look at all like she was a kidnapper of any sort; in fact, she didn’t look like she could fight at all now that he thought about it. Not to mention that they were all alone, and if she was going to kidnap him, he would have been able to overpower her with his own magical skill.

With that logical thinking out of the way, his thoughts then turned to Mouse herself. He could see she was frightened of something or someone, but he didn’t know who, and he felt he wasn’t going to get any answers right away from her, not unless he used Ancient Magic, but he could still be somewhere on School grounds for all he knew, and it was forbidden to use Ancient Magic on another student.

Though, the only jewelry he could see on Mouse was a silver chain connected to a black and white enameled pendant, instead of a magic stone like the one he had in his earring. Not to mention that she didn’t look like a student either, at least, not one he recognized. So, for all he knew, she was from the Human Realm like Jessica.

“Excuse me,” he then said as he changed the subject, “But, where exactly are you from?”

“J-Jackson,” Mouse said, which caused Roy to become bemused. He had never heard of such a place, and the last time that happened was when Guy used Ancient Magic to force Jessica to reveal where she came from the night they met.

That was how he realized that Mouse was possibly from the Human Realm.

Well, this was certainly an interesting situation! Here he was in an unknown realm, with a young girl he’d never met before and no way to get home. At least, not right away, it seemed. While some would take this as the start of an adventure, Roy felt that it would be irresponsible for him to stay for too long, especially since he had princely duties to attend to at the Academy.

Still… he had to admit, that exploring a new realm was tempting, but before he could question anything further, he realized that he could no longer hear that infernal buzzing in his ears.

“Did you hear any buzzing, when you arrived here?” he then asked only for Mouse to look at him like he grew a second head, before shaking her own.

“N-No, I didn’t, why?” she asked, only for Roy to smile and hold his hand out to her.

“Do not fret about it, come on, let’s try and find a way out of this place.”

Mouse stiffened a bit at the gesture, but relaxed when she looked him in the eye, before nervously taking his hand in her own. This was followed by another burst of light, followed by his mind being flooded with memories of the people he knew, from his respect to Guy to his wariness of Toa. It was almost as if he’d forgotten about them for a moment, but Mouse’s touch simply restored them.

“Wh-what was that?” she then asked, causing Roy to frown in thought.

“Perhaps some form of Magic?” he said more to himself than to Mouse, while the girl in question merely adjusted the brown leather bag she had hanging on her shoulder in silence for a moment.

“M-Magic ex-exists?” she stuttered out, “I-I never knew, I-I never used it be-before.”

“Well, it exists where I’m from,” Roy said, taking a mental note about the next bit of evidence that Mouse was also from the Human Realm, instead of the Magical one he hailed from.

“R-Really?” Mouse said, before looking around and letting out another “Yeep!”

“Whatever is wrong?” Roy said before Mouse silently pointed behind him. As he turned around, he soon saw that a door that certainly wasn’t there before had appeared on the other side of the room.

That was certainly odd.

As Roy walked over to the door, he heard Mouse’s short, black heels click on the floor behind him. He was surprised that they hadn’t scuffed up the glass floor below them with their shoes and wondered just how strong it really was. Maybe some form of magic made the floors unscuffable?

No, he had to focus right now. Back to the door in question- it was made of milky white glass with gold accents and seemed to be a little smaller than him. As he tried the door, he found it locked tight, and was tempted to try and use magic to unlock it.

Would his magic even work in this unknown realm?

Before he could try it and find out, he heard Mouse let out another squeak, causing him to turn just in time to see a glass table had appeared. He knew for sure that the table wasn’t there before, but as he looked at it, he saw it held three things- an open and ornate box of tea cakes with the words “Eat Me” written in currants, a bottle of some sort of red liquid tagged “Drink Me”, and a small golden key.

“Where did all of this come from?” Roy asked as he stared at the table, while Mouse stammered out her answer.

“Wh-when you tried t-to open the door and found it l-locked, I st-started to wonder about where the key was, and wh-when I turned around, the table was th-there!”

“I see,” Roy said before smiling gently at her, “It seems whatever force that’s at play here doesn’t wish for us to be trapped here, at least.”

Mouse nodded, before placing the bottle of liquid into a side pocket of her bag, before humming in thought as she picked up the box of tea-cakes next, “Th-this reminds me of Alice in W-Wonderland.”

“Alice in Wonderland?” Roy asked, bemused once again as he cocked an eyebrow.

“Y-You’ve never heard of it?” Mouse then squeaked out in surprise, only for Roy to shake his head, “I-It’s my favorite story, about a girl who falls d-down a rabbit hole and e-ends up in an-another world c-called Wonderland. At the start, sh-she finds a p-potion that shrinks her, while the tea cakes make her grow l-larger.”

“I see,” Roy said, “Why did she need them both?”  
  
“She was a c-curious little girl,” Mouse said, “And the d-door she found in the r-rabbit’s hole was on-only fifteen inches tall.”

“I see, that makes a bit of sense,” Roy said, “Well, if the bottle and tea cakes work as they do in the story, then perhaps they may be useful to us later.”

Mouse nodded in agreement as Roy picked up the key and used it to unlock the door with a soft click. Then, he stepped back as the doorway creaked open to reveal a hallway of blue glass.

The same hallway from the nightmare that started this mess!

“Heavens to hexes…” he said, earning a confused look from Mouse as she glanced at him.

“D-Do you recognize this place?” Mouse then asked as she walked through the door, while Roy had to stoop a bit to get through it due to his tall height.

“I do,” Roy then said, “I saw this place in a nightmare I had, but I don’t remember much of it.”

That was a lie, but something told him to keep that information to himself for now, why, he didn’t know, but whenever he looked at Mouse, he felt like he’d seen her before, but couldn’t quite remember where or how.

Focus. He had bigger things to take care of, such as getting out of this place. He knew that this time, it wasn’t a dream and that he needed to find a way to escape this place, and get back to the Academy. He needed to return home to his sister, Grayson, and Jessica before they worried about him for too long.

He was silent as he walked down the hall, as was Mouse as their heels clicked against the glass floor and their reflections seemed to be endlessly shown in the walls. The hallway seemed to have no real end to it, but as there was no other way but forward from here, he decided to try and think about his valet and loved ones back home.

Sherry most likely must be worried sick after what she had witnessed, and while he knew his sister could be polite, she also had a fiery streak in her that frightened even him sometimes. While he hoped she wasn’t trying to raise the devildom back at the Academy trying to get him back, he had to remind himself that she was still an A-rank student, and probably couldn’t do what he could.

Grayson on the other hand was probably in deep trouble for his failure to save Roy before, if word of the incident hadn’t already reached his kingdom, that is. He had no true idea how long he had fallen or his time spent unconscious, which made things worrisome for the prince. He did care for Grayson and didn’t want anything awful to happen to him because of this, after all.

And then there was Jessica. His beloved Jessica and her cat were still in Saligia, most likely. Jessica also probably worried about him as well while working hard to master magic and find a way home. Sure, she couldn’t even turn water into wine yet, but she did barely manage to light a candle last he checked! So he knew she could improve in time as well. Who knew what she was capable of really, with how she only just arrived a mere month before. As he thought about Jessica, he also prayed that his fans weren’t causing trouble for her either, especially if word got out that he’d joined the missing students! He had seen what they tried to do to her when the dragon attacked because of a rumor, and while he was guilty of failure in stopping them all, even he had to admit he was worried for his beloved’s safety.

Hopefully, the other princes would remember their gentlemen’s agreement with the Headmaster while he was away and do their best to protect Jessica from harm.

As he glanced towards Mouse, he noticed that she seemed to be biting her lip in thought, and wondered what was on her mind. Still, it was probably not his place to ask that, but still…

“Is something on your mind?” he found himself saying after a moment, causing Mouse to let out yet another “Yeep!” before answering. She was certainly skittish about something, that was for sure.

“J-Just th-thinking about the door th-that appeared,” she said quietly, “In the book, Alice found a garden behind the d-door, n-not a h-hallway l-like this.”

“Truly?”

“Y-Yes,” Mouse said with a nod, “I-I h-have a book with me that has the story in it, along with other w-works of L-Lewis C-Carroll.”

“I see,” Roy said, stopping his trek to see Mouse open up her bag and pull out a thick tome that showed a young girl facing a large cat on at tree-branch. Sadly, he couldn’t make out the words on the cover, which surprised him since they looked a little like Latin in letters, but for some reason, his brain couldn’t put them together to form words.

Yet more evidence that Mouse was probably from the Human Realm, not to mention he’d never heard of the author she mentioned either.

“Well, maybe we can read it together when we get the chance,” he said with a smile, earning himself a smile from Mouse in return as she placed her book back into her bag.

“I-I’m looking f-forward to it!” she said happily, before looking ahead and blinking. As Roy turned his head as well, he was surprised to find that there were now four doors ahead of them, each marked with a spade, a diamond, a clover, and a heart. Roy recognized the symbols as playing card suits, but he didn’t recognize the doors at all as his nightmare took place in just the hallway.

As they neared the doors, he noticed that despite each door being set into the wall at the back of the chamber they had entered, Roy couldn’t see through the glass to see what laid behind them.

As a result, he couldn’t help but feel on edge about all of this, while Mouse walked towards the door with the red spade on it and moved to knock it.

“Mouse, wait,” he then said, causing her to stop and look at him. “There’s no telling what could be behind those doors, we should be careful.”

“R-Right,” Mouse said, before looking back at the door and gently knocked on it.

At first, there was nothing, so Mouse knocked on the door again after a moment. The second she knocked a little harder, a voice rang out from the other side.

“Oh hold on, Snark! I’m coming!” a voice then said, followed by some grumbling that Roy couldn’t make out. He pulled Mouse back then, when the door opened towards them, revealing a man with white hair and beastly red eyes wearing just a pair of leather trousers and some boots. The stranger stared at the pair with wide eyes, as if not expecting to see anyone in the hallway at all.

“Well,” he then said as he crossed his arms over his bare, muscular chest, “This is certainly unexpected.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter took me four days to write, mainly due to me being distracted by doggos. Anyway, this chapter was pretty fun to write out, and I personally enjoyed the very beginning of the chapter where something is off about Roy. Then again, I enjoy writing moments where things seem off or dreamlike, they're fun.
> 
> So, on to Mouse. She's an OC of mine I've been wanting to write a story for, well, for a while. She's timid and shy, and stutters and she'll need a confidence boost during the story, but I'm sure she'll get one by the end of this tale.
> 
> Though, whether or not she'll become a love interest for Roy will remain up in the air, for now, then again, I want to avoid making her seem like a Mary Sue, so yeah.
> 
> So, yeah. That's all I got this time. So, who is the Mysterious man with the beastly red eyes? We'll find out next chapter.


	5. The Aces of Wonderland

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roy and Mouse meet a trio of interesting characters, before things go south...

_“Well. This is certainly unexpected.”_

That was what the stranger had said, and as Roy looked at the shirtless man before him and Mouse, the prince could have sworn he’d pass as a citizen of Avari if someone wasn’t paying close attention to his eyes. Sure, they were bright red, which was a common eye color for Invidia’s eastern neighbor, but as Roy stared into this man’s eyes, he could see they were more like a beast’s, rather than a man’s. Not to mention the only person he’d seen with hair so-white was the headmaster, but where Lou was pale, this man was tanned and certainly well trained going by his athletic frame.

“Sorry to intrude upon you, sir,” Roy then said, trying to keep his cool despite the man’s current expression reminding him of Guy Avari’s constant coldness, “but we woke up in a chamber full of mirrors and found our way to your door. Could you perhaps tell us where we are, and how we might be able to leave?”

The man was silent as Roy relayed his and Mouse’s situation, but when the prince was done, the stranger merely looked between him and Mouse, as if deep in thought. A glance of those beastly red eyes back at him, caused Roy to unconsciously flinch before the man finally spoke.

“Well, I’d just woken from a nap and was about to make some tea when you knocked,” he then said, “so, I assume the proper action in this is to invite you in for tea so we may speak in private.”

“Th-thank you, sir,” Mouse then squeaked out as the man opened his door wider and allowed the pair to walk into his apparent home. Once inside, Roy was met with a comfortable looking couch surrounding a coffee table, while a kitchen was seen behind it. Of course, while there were strange-looking devices scattered about the kitchen, Roy could also see that there was something familiar looking to him on the other side of the room: a sword with a spade-shaped garnet pommel, and a training dummy that seemed well-used.

Realizing that their host was a swordsman, Roy wondered if he was a soldier as well. However, as he looked around the room, the prince couldn’t help but feel like something was off about the man, and it wasn’t just the red eyes. In fact, as Roy glanced at a fireplace in the room, he saw hanging over the mantle the head of some beast he’d never seen before, it’s eyes replaced with glass marbles that showed a cold flame forever preserved in their depths.

Honestly, this monster’s head reminded him more of Guy than their host as the Avari Prince held the same burning cold look for as long as he’d known him.

Roy heard movement behind him then, and as he turned to look, he saw their host pull a black vest decorated with spotted white fur on the shoulders off of a coatrack by the door. Apparently, the vest was deemed appropriate wear as he wore it without anything underneath, before heading to the couch where Mouse was sitting and signaled to Roy to do the same.

“So, might I ask who you two are?” the man said, causing Mouse to let out another squeak as she nodded.

“M-My name is Mouse,” she said, before looking to Roy, “A-And this is my friend, R-Roy.”

Friends? To be honest, the prince barely knew Mouse, and she already considered him a friend? Well, he had to admit she hadn’t done anything to harm him since they met, and in their current situation, it made sense that they’d probably need to work together to get to their respective homes safely.

“Frumious B. Bandersnatch, at your service,” the man said, and while the name sounded ridiculous, the way their host said it with utmost seriousness made Roy realize that he shouldn’t laugh at it as the man continued, “But please, call me Bandersnatch, it’s what I prefer after all.”

“Very well,” Roy then said as he sat down, “Master Bandersnatch, can you tell us where we are?”

“I’ll tell you everything you need to know once the tea’s ready,” he then said, before heading to the kitchen where he rummaged through the cabinets before pulling out a box.

“Anything I can do to help?” Roy asked, feeling like he needed to make a cup of tea to relax his nerves about the whole situation.

“No, I have it handled,” Bandersnatch replied, “Besides, it would be improper for a guest to brew tea for the host.”

Well, he had a point there. As Roy nodded and returned to his seat after realizing he’d stood up, the prince looked over to Mouse, who had opened up her book and thumbing through the pages as she glanced at the beast’s head on the mantle. As he looked over her shoulder, he saw her stop on a certain passage that displayed a drawing of what looked like some kind of dragon in a waistcoat while the beast’s head looked exactly like the one over the mantle.

Sadly, he couldn’t read the words next to the illustration, but as he saw the concentrated look on Mouse’s face, he had to admit, there was something on her mind.

“Do you know what that creature is?” he then asked, pointing to the book, causing Mouse to flinch before nodding.

“I-it’s the head of a J-Jabberwock,” she said, “A-A creature m-made by Lewis C-Carroll for a p-poem he wrote.”

“What’s the poem about?” Roy then asked, and Mouse was about to say when Bandersnatch spoke up from the kitchen just behind them.

“The poem, _Jabberwocky_ is about the Beamish Boy slaying the Jabberwock,” he said, “Though, facing a Jabberwock in person is much more frightening than any illustration could possibly make out.”

“A-Are you the Beamish Boy fr-from the poem?” Mouse then asked while Roy wondered what exactly the word “beamish” even meant. However, Bandersnatch merely said nothing as he finished preparing the tea, and brought a tray with a trio of clear cups and the teapot to the table.

“What sort of tea are you serving us?” Roy then asked, watching as their host poured a purple liquid into the cups and passed them to his guests.

“This is a blueberry-pomegranate green tea I enjoy,” Bandersnatch then said as he took a sip. Though, as Roy examined his cup, he found that the purple liquid didn’t look very green at all, but said nothing to be polite as he decided to get to the point.

“You said you would tell us everything we needed to know over tea,” the prince then said looking Bandersnatch right into his beastly red eyes, “So, can you begin by telling us where we are?”

“We are in a place called Looking Glass Way, a sort of buffer zone created to act as a pathway to Wonderland after the Rabbit Hole system we used to use started getting unstable,” Bandersnatch said plainly, while Mouse’s eyes widened.

“W-Wonderland exists?” she asked, earning a nod from Bandersnatch as he sipped his tea, while Roy did the same to be polite and also try something new. The flavors were surprisingly working well together, in his opinion, and wondered where their host managed to find such a tea in the first place.

“Of course it does,” Bandersnatch said, “Any world exists, even if it’s only in a person’s mind at first.”

That confused Roy, but he said nothing to remain polite for now, but he did have a question of his own.

“What is Wonderland like?” he asked, only to get an all to familiar cold look from Bandersnatch.

“At the moment, it’s like nothing at all due to that damned fog!” he growled, before clearing his throat to collect himself.

“Fog?” both Roy and Mouse said in confusion, causing Bandersnatch to set his teacup on the table before he answered- most likely so he wouldn’t break the delicate cup.

“Yes, a vile fog has fallen over Wonderland,” he said, “It started in the Land of Clubs, before it spread everywhere else, eventually encompassing all of Wonderland as we know it, and made it an awful place to live as well.”

“Why is it so awful to live there?” Roy then asked, getting a sinking feeling in his stomach as Bandersnatch answered him.

“Because anyone caught in the fog seems to disappear, never to be seen again,” their host then explained tersely, “At the moment, all that hasn’t become lost is me, and the other three Aces of Wonderland. At least until an Alice comes to restore the place… hasn’t been the same without one, to be honest.”

Mouse and Roy were silent at this explanation, though while he couldn’t read Mouse’s mind, he also had thousands of questions running through his mind. Why did they need an Alice? Couldn’t the original come back at any time? And more importantly, who or what were the Aces of Wonderland?

Before he could think any further on his questions, Bandersnatch spoke again with one of his own.

“So, how did you two get to Looking Glass Way?”

“I-I c-came though a m-mirror in an alleyway,” Mouse said first, though her expression seemed nervous about something. It was as if she was hiding something, but Roy didn’t know what it was, other than she was running away from someone. But, neither he nor Bandersnatch chose to pry, mainly because the white-haired man was now looking at him, waiting for the prince’s answer.

“Oh, I… fell down a rabbit hole, I think,” he said, “I was at school and on my way back to my dorm when a white rabbit appeared and compelled me to give chase, next thing I know, there’s a hole beneath me when I caught up to the beastie, and I fell into the chamber I met Mouse in.”

“A white rabbit?” Bandersnatch said in surprise, “Why, no one’s been brought to Wonderland via a rabbit hole in over a decade! The rabbit holes became much too unstable to create and would send a person anywhere in Wonderland if they fell down one. Not to mention that the White Rabbit who created the system admitted that Looking Glass Way was safer as a buffer zone of sorts.”

“Well, I really did see one in my world of Saligia,” Roy said, earning confused looks from both Mouse and Bandersnatch, “Though, for some reason, I was the only one who could see it.”

“I see,” Bandersnatch said, “I’ve not heard of Saligia, as normally, White Rabbits go to Earth.”

Earth? As in the Human Realm? Now that was news to him. If that’s the case, then how did one end up in Saligia, and why was he unlucky enough to end up being taken to this place by the creature? However, as he looked at Mouse, he couldn’t help but ask her a question directly as a certain someone entered his thoughts.

“Mouse, do you know a girl named Jessica Scott?”

“N-No, I d-don’t,” she said, shaking her head. Roy sighed in defeat at this, having hoped he’d found someone who knew his beloved, someone who actually missed her enough to notice she was missing. But, as it seemed that Mouse was a complete stranger, he realized that it made sense if Earth was a large place.

He really didn’t know much about the Human Realm other than what he learned from Jessica- as little information as that turned out to be in the end.

As he watched Bandersnatch pour himself some more tea in silence, Roy picked up his own cup and took another sip in deep thought.

“Um, M-Mister B-Bandersnatch?” Mouse then said to break the silence, “Wh-Who exactly are the A-Aces of Wonderland? I-I’ve read every w-work of Fiction by Lewis Carroll, b-but I’ve never heard of th-them.”

“The Aces were formed after the Reverend’s passing on Earth,” Bandersnatch said, “Our duty is to protect Wonderland in times of danger, but myself and the other Aces weren’t able to do our job thanks to the blasted Fog and were forced to retreat to Looking Glass Way five years ago.”

“Who is the Reverend?” Roy asked while Mouse decided to explain.

“R-Reverend Charles D-Dodgson was the re-real name of Lewis C-Carroll,” she said, to which Bandersnatch nodded in agreement, “B-But I always thought th-that Wonderland was created off the t-top of his head.”

“Well, it was,” Bandersnatch said, “But as Pop Culture in your world made Wonderland immortal, in a sense, then we’re able to continue existing despite our creator being long dead.”

“I-I see,” Mouse said as she finished off her tea, as did Roy, now that he thought about it. “A-Are the other Aces l-like you, M-Mister Bandersnatch?”

“As the Ace of Spades, I would have to say no,” their host then said flatly, “But, as quirky as they are, I honestly wouldn’t trade them for anyone else.”

“What do you mean by quirky?” Roy asked, while Bandersnatch merely finished off his own cup and stood up.

“How would you like to meet them and find out?” he asked before heading towards the training dummy and picking up the beautiful sword next to it. After Roy watched the man strap the blade to his waist, it was clear that the trio was going to meet the other three Aces whether they liked it or not. As a result, Roy and Mouse stood up and silently followed Bandersnatch out of the apartment and back into Looking Glass Way.

The first door they came to was the one right next to the Red Spade door- this one showing a green diamond painted onto it. Roy wasn’t sure why, but he felt nervous as Bandersnatch knocked on it, before speaking up.

“Beaver, come on out, we have guests!” he said, causing the prince to hear shuffling and swearing on the other side of the door. After a moment, it opened to reveal a woman with long brown hair in a white shirt and green skirt, her green eyes glaring at the white-haired man as she spoke.

“Frumious, what about guests at all is so important that you interrupt my lace-making?” she asked, and Roy did indeed note that there seemed to be miles of lace inside her apartment. Of course, as Bandersnatch growled at her, it was clear that they seemed to butt heads often.

“Beaver, how many times do I have to tell you to call me Bandersnatch?” he asked, before getting to the point, “Anyway, we have guests. _In Looking Glass Way._ After five bloody years of just the four of us inhabiting this place!”

It took a moment, but the woman did let realization dawn on her face as she glanced behind Bandersnatch at Roy and Mouse, while her eyes looked the prince over before she spoke.

“Well, I’ll admit he’s cute looking, Frumious,” she said, “But he seems to be lacking the muscles my dear Butcher has.”

Bandersnatch simply pinched the bridge of his nose before taking a deep breath out of annoyance and mumbling something under his breath that Roy couldn’t catch, before he added aloud, “He’s not the only guest, Beaver. We have a young girl here as well.”

Beaver then looked to Mouse and blinked at her, humming in thought as she stepped closer to them both, though while Roy was prepared to answer questions, he noticed that Mouse seemed nervous about something as Beaver then asked a question.

“Are either of them the one we’ve been waiting for, Frumious?” she asked, causing another bout of grumbling.

“How should I know?” Bandersnatch said through gritted teeth, “The girl gave me a pseudonym and introduced the boy to me herself! And besides, it would have been rude to press things neither of them would want to go into.”

“You and your obsession with proper etiquette for any situation is going to get you into trouble one of these days!” Beaver snapped in exasperation, before looking to Roy and Mouse again, “So, how about it? Would you mind telling me your real names?”

“I’m Roy Invidia,” Roy said politely as he gave a bow to the woman, “Miss Beaver, I don’t really know Mouse’s real name, but I agree with Bandersnatch about pressing the issue if she doesn’t wish to reveal it.”

Beaver looked at Roy before her mouth formed a hard line as she gave him an annoyed look. Did he say the wrong thing to her, or was she really this stubborn about getting a person’s real name? In fact, he found it rather odd that this woman didn’t immediately swoon over him as so many other girls did back in Saligia. So, Either she was really loyal to her Butcher, or she just didn’t care.

Either way, it was oddly refreshing to not have a woman fall over herself to please him.

“So how about it, sweetie?” Beaver then said to Mouse, causing the smaller girl to squeak in surprise, “Mind telling me your real name?”

“Um… i-it’s not r-right,” Mouse then said, “Y-You need an Alice, a-and I-I’m not an Alice…”

“Well, you’re both here for a reason even if your names aren’t right,” Beaver said as if that was logical enough, “And whatever that reason is, I’m sure we’ll all find out together!”

“Beaver, will you please leave the matter be?” Bandersnatch then said in annoyance, looking as if he was trying not to throttle the woman before them, only for Beaver to send him another glare and continue.

“Please, sweetie?” she asked Mouse again, causing the smaller girl to sigh and give in.

“I-It’s Alicia Rydell,” the girl stuttered out quietly, “B-But I pr-prefer to be c-called Mouse.”

“Well, you do look kind of like a Mouse with your hair buns,” Beaver said, “But I’ll also admit that Alicia is pretty close to Alice, so, therefore, you’re an Alice in my book!”

While Roy silently questioned that logic, he didn’t really get a chance to say anything as Beaver immediately felt it was time to do a proper introduction.

“In any case,” she said, “I’m Beaver, the Ace of Diamonds, I’m basically a medic, but I’ve survived tougher situations than some silly fog!”

“Stop trying to make yourself seem braver than you are, Beaver,” Bandersnatch said flatly, “We both know you panicked on Snark Island due to the Jub Jub Bird.”

“Frumious, don’t ruin the moment,” Beaver said quickly, “Besides, _you_ ran off after what you did to the Banker during the expedition I was on back then!”

“Maybe because I was _trying_ to relax on a hard-earned vacation!” Bandersnatch argued, “And besides, that Banker had it coming when he tried to bribe me!”

“Maybe so, but he was still a part of the expedition!”

Roy blinked as the arguing continued, looking to Mouse for answers as she watched alongside him. It was clear that these two didn’t get along, despite Bandersnatch saying earlier that he wouldn’t trade any of the aces for someone else, and in some ways, it kind of reminded him of Guy and Toa’s feelings towards each other back in Saligia.

However, he honestly wasn’t sure which of these two was equal to which prince.

“Um, ex-excuse me,” Mouse said, getting the two Wonderlanders’ attention, “B-But h-how about we meet the n-next Ace?”

“Very well,” Bandersnatch said as he blushed and collected himself, while Beaver did the same and crossed her arms.

“Gladly,” she said, and both walked tensely towards the next door- this one painted with a blue clover.

“Now, Miss Mouse, Mister Invidia,” Bandersnatch then said, getting the Prince’s attention as he moved in front of the door, “Sylvie is a bit odd, even by Wonderland’s standards, but they’re a good enough sort, in my opinion.”

“How are they strange?” Roy said, noticing the way the Ace of Spades referred to the next member of the group.

“You’ll see soon enough,” he said, before knocking on the door and saying, “Sylvie, come on out, we have guests.”

The group waited for a moment, but the door did not open. So, Bandersnatch knocked again, a little harder as he added, “Sylvie, did you not hear me?”

Still nothing. Beaver sighed as Bandersnatch growled again, and Roy worried that the man was going to do something rash before the door finally opened to reveal the Ace of Clubs.

They turned out to be an exceptionally tall individual in a baggy, blue and silver jester costume with a three-horned cowl. They were adjusting a simple grinning mask with a white-gloved hand, and as Roy looked on, couldn’t help but notice that there seemed to be something rather odd about Sylvie as he couldn’t tell if they were a boy or a girl.

“There you are,” Bandersnatch said in relief, “What took you so long to answer the door?”

Sylvie simply pulled out a note from their sleeve, before handing it to Bandersnatch who then read it before saying, “Oh, you were getting dressed? I assume that’s fair enough.”

Well, it was different than what Roy expected, as he thought for a moment Sylvie would be a bit like Lynt- more of a sleeper than a doer. Still, he had to wonder why Sylvie didn’t just say so and instead communicated with notes.

Of course, he didn’t have long to think about that, as Sylvie immediately turned their head towards him and Mouse, walked over and pulled out a pair of cards, and handed them to the pair.

“Sylvie Bruno, Ace of Clubs,” Roy read aloud without thinking, before realizing that he could actually make out what was written, even though he was sure it wasn’t Latin. “Wait, how am I able to read this?”

“What d-do you mean?” Mouse said in confusion, “It’s n-normal English, i-isn’t it?”

“Well, where I’m from, Latin is the language we speak and read in,” Roy said, before something else clicked in his mind, “Pardon my next question, but how do we understand each other? I assumed we were speaking Latin, but it seems that somehow, I’m able to communicate with all of you.”

“I-I d-don’t know,” Mouse said, “I-I thought y-you were speaking English th-this whole time.”

Roy looked to the three gathered Aces for an answer, and as they seemed just as confused as he was, he realized that back in his world; Jessica could speak Latin without a problem, though it wasn’t her actual language. He wondered if what was happening to him was similar to her situation; since he could understand her perfectly back in Saligia despite her being from another world entirely. What’s more, he was honestly confused as to how there wasn’t a language barrier between them. Was there some sort of ambient magic causing all of this for some form of convenience? It did make sense, in a way, but he wasn’t sure if that was actually the answer.

“Well, whatever the case,” Bandersnatch said, “We can at least speak to each other, so I won’t question a blessing in disguise.”

“Um, S-Sylvie?” Mouse then said as something else had been bothering her besides the lack of a language barrier, “A-Are you mute?”

Sylvie said nothing, instead choosing to mime laughter as Beaver and Bandersnatch both shrugged. Apparently, this was normal, but he didn’t really get why the question was funny at all.

That didn’t stop the jester from handing him another note, as he read it to himself.

_Welcome to Wonderland, we’re all mad here._

Roy raised an eyebrow at this, and looked to Bandersnatch in confusion, the man with beastly red eyes merely sighing and telling the prince, “It’s Sylvie. You’ll get used to it.”

“If you say so…” Roy said with a sigh, feeling a headache coming on as he wondered what the final Ace would be like as Sylvie cartwheeled towards the final door before Bandersnatch could get to it, and knocked on the yellow heart emblazoned upon there.

The door, however, creaked open as fog rolled out of it, causing Bandersnatch and Beaver to panic, while Sylvie remained unreadable. Was this the fog that caused people to get lost? If so, how did it get into Looking Glass Way?

Roy didn’t get a chance to think further as the buzzing returned to his ears, the last words he was able to make out coming from Beaver as she screamed.

_“Snark! NO!”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I got this chapter done in just a few hours! So I'm happy about that to be honest. Also had fun writing out Beaver and Sylive's moments, as well as Bandersnatch's.
> 
> As for Snark, while he only got mentioned so far in dialogue, he has actually shown up before any of the other Aces. Won't say where though, but if you want to guess, feel free to do so in the comments!
> 
> Anyway, next time we'll meet Snark in person, so... see ya then!


	6. Restoration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roy nearly loses his mind, but is rescued by Mouse, and also meets the final Ace of Wonderland...

The buzzing had returned as the fog poured into the chamber of glass.

“Wh-What’s happening?” Roy heard Mouse say as he clutched his head, trying to keep the buzzing from getting worse through sheer willpower. He watched as the fog grew thicker around them all, starting to obscure the three Wonderlanders he had met that day.

“Somehow the Fog has managed to get into Looking Glass Way!” Bandersnatch shouted in panic, “If we don’t find a way to get it out of here, we’ll be lost!”

“How do we do that?” Roy shouted back as he now saw silhouettes of Bandersnatch, Beaver, Sylvie, and Mouse through the fog.

“We… we need Alice to-” was all Bandersnatch managed to say, his voice growing weaker as the buzzing Roy heard grew louder. He screamed in pain as he was brought to his knees, the fog surrounding him completely as he lost sight of Mouse and the others. It became harder to think, to know just who he was anymore as the buzzing grew louder and louder.

Then began the whispers.

_Ahoy! Ahoy! Check!_

_It was a glorious victory, wasn’t it?_

_To guard against the bites of sharks._

The whispers became louder and faster, and while he couldn’t make out their meaning, he also felt they made sense. It was as if his thoughts were being replaced by someone else’s, and yet it felt normal to him, terrifyingly enough. He had to invent, to prepare for anything and anyone.

No. No, he didn’t. He had to do something else instead, didn’t he? He had to fight this effect on his mind!

He had people waiting for him somewhere.

He had to stop her.

He had to find a way back to those he loved.

He had to protect his king.

He had to get back to his kingdom.

He had to find his horse.

He had to get back to the Academy.

He needed to obey the rules of battle.

He had to stop the fog.

He---

“STOP!” he heard someone cry, someone close as the buzzing started to weaken again. He started to remember who he was- he was Roy Invidia, a prince and an S-Rank student at the Royal Academy of Concordia on the Isle of Colde. He and his sister were sent to the island to uphold a treaty. He was in love with Jessica Scott, he was wary of Toa Qelsum and annoyed by Fenn Luxure. He respected Guy Avari and fussed over Lynt Akedia. He was worried about his valet, Grayson, and what his current situation put the man into.

He was lost in a dream, it felt like, but he knew this was all too real this time as the fog started to dissipate around him and the others.

His mind was getting clearer as he looked around, the buzzing fading away from his ears once again along with the whispers he could no longer make out. He saw Mouse near him, worry in her eyes as she gave off a strange light, the fog shrinking away from her as she held onto Roy’s hand.

When did she grab his hand?

He didn’t know, but as he felt relief go through his body as his mind cleared up, he started to wonder what the Fog would have done to him had she not saved him. Then he recalled what happened when he first touched Mouse, and how his mind cleared up then as well.

Did she have some form of Ancient Magic, much like Jessica?

Roy didn’t know, but as he watched the fog retreat back into the room it came out of, he saw Bandersnatch, Beaver, and Sylvie lying on the ground. He watched them start to stand up in bemusement as they glanced around, before seeing the light around Mouse. They, along with Roy stared in awe as the Fog continued to recede back to where it came from, while Mouse continued to shine with that strange white light. He wondered once again what it was before Bandersnatch spoke again.

“Is… is this the power we need?” he said in awe as he got back up, the fog disappearing from the final Ace’s room as Mouse let Roy go and walked inside of it. He wanted to call out to her to be careful, but he found his voice wouldn’t work, instead watching as the fog vanished from the room entirely, followed by the door slamming shut.

“Mouse!” Roy finally cried out, trying to force open the door, only to find it stuck fast, he could hear voices on the other side but was worried about the girl. He wasn’t sure why, however, but assumed it was due to him fussing over Lynt for so long.

Either way, she could be in a lot of danger, and if she was from the Human Realm, he needed to keep her alive so she could get home safely.

It was, to him, the right thing to do as a prince.

~0~

Fog and darkness.

That was what surrounded Mouse as she timidly entered the room. She didn’t know why, but she felt she had to do so in order to fully remove the fog. As her body glowed, she wondered about the strange light that surrounded her, that seemed to drive off the fog back in what she considered to be the Ace’s Common Area, but it seemed extra thick to her now.

The door she entered through had then slammed behind her, causing her to let out a yeep in surprise as she heard what sounded like a cat growl in her ear.

“H-Hello?” she stammered out, too scared to move as she tried not to look to her left to see what had growled.

“What…what do you want?” a young, pained voice then said, and she could faintly smell a variety of soaps in the air as well.

“I-I don’t know,” Mouse stuttered out, “I-I’m sorry to b-barge in, b-but I-I felt l-like so-someone needed help.”

Silence, as if whatever was in the room with her was thinking about something as her light continued to shine in the room.

“Help?” the voice then said, “You shouldn’t bother… I’m not a very nice creature, from what I can remember.”

“Wh-what makes you say that?” Mouse then asked, more curious now than afraid.

“I… I can’t control my powers,” the voice said, “I erase things, and Bandsy finds me annoying… Syl and Ma probably feel the same since I’m just a kid after all.”

“I-I don’t think you’re annoying,” Mouse said, realizing she was speaking to the Ace of Hearts, “A-And Mister B-Bandersnatch said he wouldn’t trade any of the Aces f-for anyone else!”

Silence again, before the voice spoke, and Moue could swear she could feel the confused look on their unseen face.

“He really said that?” the Ace of Hearts said, and Mouse recalled the name Beaver called out when the door opened as well.

“Y-Yes he did and Beaver s-sounded afraid when the door to your r-room o-opened up and unleashed the fog…” Mouse said, feeling a little braver as she heard footsteps circling her.

“Ma… was worried?” the voice said in confusion as the fog started to thin out a little, and Mouse could see screens flickering on a wall, though she couldn’t quite make out what was on them yet.

“Y-Yes she was!” Mouse said, “I-I think all the Aces w-were worried about you, Mister Snark!”

“Hey, don’t call me Mister!” the voice said with a bit of poutiness to it as the fog thinned a little more, “Just call me Snark, ok?”

“O-Ok Sn-Snark,” Mouse stammered out, “M-My name’s Mouse, and I-I and a boy I met in Looking Glass Way are a l-little lost. C-Can you at least help my friend, R-Roy find his way home?”

Silence for the third time, and Mouse could now see a shadow in the fog that looked like a boy about her height, maybe slightly taller, with cat ears and a tail, as well as the wings and feet of a bird. She felt a clawed hand grab her own as the fog faded further before she found herself looking into a pair of golden cat-like eyes.

“You’re kind of short,” the monster boy before her said flatly, “How old are you, anyway?”

“Um… e-eighteen,” Mouse said, blushing from embarrassment as she added, “And I-I know I’m short…”

“Well, I guess I’ll call you Big Sis from now on since you’re older than me,” Snark then said with a grin as his fangs became exposed to her, “Well, if you’re alright with that, I mean.”

The fog was almost non-existent now, and Mouse could make out a bathing machine in the corner of the room, as well as a radio connected to a microphone alone with other devices she recognized from her world. A videogame console was plugged into a television set next to a computer, much to her surprise, and she could also see the cat-bird boy in front of her flex his black wings to hide what he’d been doing on the computer out of embarrassment.

“I-I don’t mind,” Mouse said with a smile, “I-It’s nice to me-meet you Snark.”

“Yeah,” Snark said as the last of the fog disappeared and light returned to the room, “Nice to meet you too, Big Sis!”

~0~

Back with Roy, he watched as Beaver looked at the Ace of Heart’s door in worry. He didn’t know what was going on in there, but try as he might, he couldn’t force the door to open, even when he tried regular magic to pick the lock. While he was glad his magic could work in this realm, he had to admit that he was worried about Mouse, and it seemed that Beaver was worried about Snark, whoever that happened to be.

Then the door opened, revealing Mouse, whose light started to fade as she fell forward. Without thinking, he moved to catch the tired-looking girl in his arms safely.

She saved his mind with her magic, even if she didn’t realize it, and as he looked Mouse in those brilliant blue eyes of hers, he felt his heart race slightly as he wondered if she was alright.

However, a new voice broke the silence before he could.

“Hey, Big Bro, is Big Sis ok?” said a young boy with the ears and tail of a black cat as well as the wings and feet of a crow. He was dressed in a simple white shirt and brown shorts, and as Roy stared at the strange boy, he couldn’t help but find something oddly familiar about him, but he couldn’t remember where he’d seen him. Which was strange, as surely he’d recall meeting such a strange-looking child, correct?

“I think Miss Mouse is-” Roy said before he was rudely interrupted by Beaver immediately scooping up the monster boy into her arms and hugging him tightly.

“Oh Snark!” she said, surprising Roy as he realized that this was the Ace of Hearts, “I’m so glad you’re safe! Do you have any idea how worried I was when the fog rolled in from out of your room?”

“Ah, Ma…” Snark said as he blushed, but didn’t struggle against the worried woman’s hold, with Roy left wondering why Snark called him what he did. Of course, as he was a little bigger than Mouse, he also wondered why she was called Big Sis, as well.

Was she older than she looked?

“Um, pardon me for asking this,” Roy then said, “But what happened to the fog?”

Everyone looked at him before Bandersnatch cleared his throat while Beaver let Snark go from her grasp.

“My theory,” Bandersnatch then said, “Is that Miss Mouse somehow has the power to remove it, possibly even to restore Wonderland itself since it’s been lost in the fog for five years. However, that doesn’t really explain Roy’s role in all of this…”

“I honestly don’t think I’m supposed to be here at all,” Roy said, still holding onto Mouse as she caught her breath- a sure sign of the strain using too much magic could do to a person, but he kept that to himself as he continued, “I need to return to Saligia, I have people worrying about me there!”

The four Aces looked at him, half their expressions unreadable, the other half confused. But, as Bandersnatch soon let out a sigh, he thought that maybe the red-eyed warrior had an idea.

“Well, it might be a long shot, but perhaps the White Rabbit could help you return home since you came here through a rabbit hole,” he said, while Roy cocked an eyebrow.

“But, isn’t the White Rabbit in my world?” Roy said, earning another pair of confused looks from Snark and Beaver while Sylvie just turned their head and tilted it to the left.

“It’s true that _a_ White Rabbit is apparently in your world, though how or why is currently unknown,” Bandersnatch said, “But I’m talking about the original White Rabbit from the Reverend’s tale. Rabbits are known for procreating after all, so it’s possible the one you met was just related to the original. However, because of the fog, the White Rabbit the first Alice met will be harder to find than normal, which means that you will need Mouse’s power to get home.”

“So, in order to escape, I’ll need to explore,” Roy said, but as he recalled what happened to him in the Fog when it infiltrated Looking Glass Way, he worried that if he went into Wonderland alone, he’d become lost. Not to mention he had other students to find and get home as well. Because of this, it seemed his only option was to stay with Mouse and the Aces for now, but how could he turn this into something they could mutually agree on? As a prince, he’d make a fine hostage, but as far as he could tell, these four just wanted their home back to normal. Not to mention that Mouse herself was untrained in using magic.

That was when an idea hit him.

“Alright, what if I help you in your travels while we search for the White Rabbit?” Roy then suggested, earning him a raised eyebrow from Bandersnatch, “I’m a skilled Magician in my world, as well as a decent enough Swordsman. Not to mention that as far as I’m able to tell, Mouse will need protection on this journey, and in case something happens to the four of you, someone needs to be by her side, correct?”

“So, you’re offering your services?” Bandersnatch said, while Roy nodded at him, and out of the corner of his eye, the prince swore he saw Sylvie was nodding in approval without saying a word. He also saw Beaver give Bandersnatch a curious look while young Snark seemed awfully confused about what was going on.

“I am,” Roy finally said, looking straight into those beastly red eyes with his amber ones.

“Very well,” Bandersnatch said as he walked over to Roy and placed his hand on the prince’s shoulder, “I’ll consider temporarily making you my Deuce, which will mean that while you’re with us, you’ll be learning how to be an Ace, and assist me in protecting Mouse from any dangers we may find in Wonderland.”

“That sounds fair,” Roy said as he stood up, still holding Mouse in his arms before he set her down on her feet. He watched as the girl nervously turned away from him, and wondered what that was about, decided to stick with the subject at hand.

“What sort of dangers does Wonderland normally hold?” he asked, and though Bandersnatch was about to answer him, Snark decided to interrupt.

“Can we talk about this over dinner?” he said with a growling stomach, “Seriously, I’m starving after being lost in the fog for who knows how long.”

It was then that Bandersnatch glared at Snark, before sighing and pulling out a small pocket watch from his vest. Looking at it for a moment, he nodded and closed it before he spoke.

“Very well, we’ll speak more later, Roy, for now, it’s about time for dinner, as Snark so helpfully reminded us,” he said, before looking to the other Aces, “Now then, whose turn is it to cook?”

“Oh! Mine!” Beaver said while Snark grinned as she walked into her apartment to begin cooking dinner, leaving the five remaining people in the common area. All was awkwardly silent for a moment, with Roy thinking about the situation at hand, as he glanced over at Mouse. Sure, she was small and probably defenseless, but he felt that he could change that with proper tutelage. Not to mention that things would probably be different in Wonderland than it was in Saligia- which meant new customs to learn and get used to until it was time to leave.

Luckily, as an Invidian, he was rather good at imitating other cultures, if needed, so he felt he could manage this much. Still, there was Mouse’s situation to think about as well. She was running away from someone, but who and why? She wasn’t willing to talk, but as he watched her hold a conversation with Sylvie, as one-sided as it was due to the jester’s notes making up their responses, he couldn’t help but feel that she wouldn’t take him pressing her very well.

Then there was Snark. There was something familiar about the boy and it bugged him, as he couldn’t quite recall where and how he’d seen him. In fact, for some reason, his entire memory felt a little off from before he ended up in Looking Glass Way. Sure, he could remember important things like his classmates, his beloved, his sister, his Valet, and the missing students, but everything else was… fuzzy.

It was alarming to think about, in all honesty.

“Hey Big Sis,” Snark then said to Mouse as Bandersnatch observed the trio, “Where did you get your jacket? It’s pretty cool!”

“O-Oh!” Mouse said in surprise as she adjusted it a little, while Bandersnatch smacked Snark.

“Snark, remember our talks about being proper?” the older man said, while Snark let out a groan.

“I thought asking about her jacket counted as small talk…” Snark said, while Bandersnatch paused and sighed.

“My apologies, I must still be tense about recent events,” Bandersnatch said as he walked away, “Do continue.”

This was when Roy decided to ask Snark about something.

“Snark,” Roy then said as politely as possible, “Why do you call Miss Mouse, Big Sis?”

“Huh?” Snark said while Mouse rubbed her arm nervously, “Oh, that. Well, she’s eighteen and I’m fifteen. So, since she’s older than me, she’s Big Sis, even if she’s short.”

Well, Roy didn’t expect that Mouse was practically an adult. And it was clear that his surprise was showing on his face as Mouse blushed and turned away from him. Though, he did wonder what may have caused her to be so short- shorter than even his sister, Sherry.

Something just told him that Mouse’s height wasn’t natural.

“Hey, Big Bro!” Snark then said, getting Roy’s attention again, “Don’t you think it’s frabjous that Mouse is going to help save Wonderland?”

“Pardon?” Roy said, now entirely confused, sure, he knew that Mouse’s power was most likely important to the people of Wonderland, but, “Frabjous?”

“Oh, I guess you don’t use that word in Salad-land,” Snark said, irritating Roy slightly, “Well, Big Bro, Frabjous is a portmanteau word of fabulous and joyous!”

“I see, also my world is called Saligia,” Roy said, before another question rose to mind, “Also, why do you insist on calling me your brother?”

Snark blinked for a moment, before rubbing his neck with a clawed hand as he answered with, “Sorry, you just seemed like a big brother type to me for some reason, it’s kind of weird, to be honest.”

“I see, I think,” Roy then said, “I do have a sister back home in Saligia, but I didn’t realize I gave off a feeling of being an older brother to you, Snark.”

“Well, ya do,” Snark said with a shrug, though it was clear he was trying to think about something, though what it was Roy didn’t know. However, as the prince looked at Mouse, he saw she was nervous about something and decided to ask what it was.

“Is something bothering you, Miss Mouse?” Roy then said, getting the girl’s attention.

“I-I d-don’t know if I-I can be a h-hero,” Mouse said with a sigh, “I j-just found out about m-my new powers fr-from e-everyone, an-and b-back in sc-school, I… w-wasn’t th-that good wh-where it m-mattered o-outside of my g-grades.”

Well, that didn’t sound good. If he applied his school’s ranking system, then Mouse would be either a C-Rank or just barely a B-rank, depending on what her marks were. Though, with that stutter of hers, he wondered if something else was going on with her, or if she just had a natural stammer.

However, he chose not to press the subject further, instead doing his best to get on Mouse’s good side so she’d give him information when she was ready.

“Well, what were your grades like, as you put it?”

“I-I was a st-straight A student,” Mouse said, “B-But th-that was n-never enough fo-for some people.”

“Like who?” Roy asked out of concern, but upon seeing Mouse pale again and shaking her head, he realized rather quickly that he made a mistake. Apparently, whoever it was she was talking about, was either a bully or something else that the girl feared. He watched as Mouse then clutched the pendant she wore around her neck, before taking a few deep breaths to calm down, as if feeling like the pendant had a spell on it, though Roy couldn’t detect a trace of magic on it.

“Is your pendant important to you?” Roy then asked, causing Mouse to nod quietly, though it was clear she didn’t want to say why as she changed the subject immediately.

“Is m-magic common, in Saligia?” she asked, causing Roy to smile gently and nod at her.

“Yes it is,” he said, “Though if you’d like, I would be happy to teach you what I know while I travel with you to the White Rabbit’s home.”

“I-I’m not sure I c-can do much, b-but I a-appreciate the offer,” Mouse said with a smile, causing Roy to relax a bit. He wanted to tell her about Jessica, but he worried her struggles with magic could cause Mouse to lose confidence in herself, not to mention he had high hopes that the love of his life could handle magic on her own one day.

She just needed time to practice.

“Everyone, dinner is ready!” Roy then heard Beaver call out, and turned to see her bringing out a large cart of food towards a large glass table that had appeared while Roy had been talking to Mouse, compete with six glass chairs surrounding it. Roy watched as Beaver placed a large pot of a bubbling stew along with rice on the side. It smelled wonderful to him, and he realized then just how hungry he truly was as he found himself sitting down to enjoy the meal with the Aces and Mouse.

~0~

After dinner was eaten, Roy found himself back in Bandersnatch’s apartment. It had been decided that Roy would stay with the warrior while Mouse roomed with Beaver. While Snark did offer to set Roy up, Bandersnatch refused by saying that Snark would probably keep him up all night with his games, while Sylvie flat out rejected either of the guests staying in their room.

So, here Roy was, putting on some spare pajamas Bandersnatch had given him to sleep in, while his own clothes were folded neatly in a chair. It was as he slipped on the comfortable night-shirt that the warrior knocked on the spare bedroom’s door before he spoke up.

“Are you decent?” he asked, “I’d rather not walk in on you while you were changing. It would be most improper.”

“I’m dressed, do not worry,” Roy said and watched as his host entered the room, once again wearing just a pair of pants, though instead of leather these were white cotton that was decorated with black spades.

“Good,” Bandersnatch then said as he sat down in a nearby chair while Roy sat on the bed, “There’s something I want to talk to you about.”

“What do you mean?” Roy asked, clearly confused. Had he done something to offend his host somehow?

“I’m just wondering something about you, is all,” Bandersnatch said, “For starters, why are you so keen on getting back home as soon as possible?”

“Because I have people waiting for me back in Saligia- my sister, Sherry, my Valet, Grayson, and Jessica, someone I hold dear to my heart.”

“A valet?” Bandersnatch asked with a cocked eyebrow, “That, combined with your clothes makes you seem like a prince, don’t you think?”

Well then, there went him hiding that fact from the Aces and Mouse. However, Roy said nothing but instead glared at Bandersnatch, who decided to continue as he glared back at the prince.

“Well, whatever your reasons for hiding your nobility, you need to work on it since your manners are too perfect,” he then said, “Honestly, whatever reason you have for being the perfect prince, it won’t get you anywhere in Wonderland if you keep trying to hide. As I’ve learned in my etiquette research over the years, there’s a time and place for manners, and a time and place to be improper.”

“What are you getting at?” Roy asked while Bandersnatch held his ground.

“I’m saying that you’ll need to loosen up,” Bandersnatch said, “I know that sounds hypocritical considering that I am obsessed with proper protocol for any situation, but sadly, life will cause you to forget those rules under certain circumstances, such as battle or matters of revenge.”

“I don’t plan on tarnishing my image,” Roy said coldly, “As long as I’m here, I feel as though I’m representing all of Saligia, and I have a mission to undertake while I’m traveling with you and the others.”

“A mission?” Bandersnatch said, “You mean returning back to your homeworld, don’t you?”

“That, and also to find some missing students from the Academy I was taken from,” Roy said, “Back in my world, before I was brought here by the White Rabbit, three students disappeared from the Academy, Two girls and a boy by the names of Mary Ann, Lori, and Hatta. Before Mouse and I arrived here, have anyone fitting those names been through Looking Glass Way?”

“No,” Bandersnatch said, and as Roy looked the man over, he realized he was telling the truth, “At least, not to my knowledge. Then again, if they entered Wonderland through a rabbit hole like yourself, then they could be anywhere in Wonderland- possibly even lost in the fog.”

“So, we may end up finding them while we find the White Rabbit,” Roy said, crossing his arms in thought.

“Possibly so,” Bandersnatch said in agreement, “Do you know anything about these students other than their names?”

“Just their ranks at the Academy- Lori and Mary Ann were both C-Rank students- think the lowest rung in the latter. Hatta, however, was a B-rank, the most common student there.”

“So, practically nobody important,” Bandersnatch said, “Though, their names are similar to those Lost in Wonderland before we retreated.”

“Really?” Roy said in surprise as he bade Bandersnatch continue.

“Yes, Mary Ann was the name of the White Rabbit’s maid, though she was never able to meet Alice in the original story, nor did Alice ever meet her. As for Lori, that’s a type of bird, I believe, while Hatta is rather close to Hatter, don’t you think?”

“I would assume so?” Roy said, “Who exactly is this Hatter, you speak of?”

“He’s a tea fanatic in Wonderland, alongside his friends the March Hare and the Dormouse- as well as my predecessor as Ace of Spades. He’s also the man I used to get my tea from before he and his comrades became lost in the fog during one of their famous tea parties.”

“I see,” Roy said with a sigh, “I just hope we find the missing students and are able to send all of them home safely.”

“I’m sure we will,” Bandersnatch said before he stood up and stretched, “In any case, do get some rest, Roy. We’ll be leaving for Wonderland proper at dawn.”

“Very well,” Roy said as he crawled into bed, where exhaustion hit him hard. Though, he could not yet sleep as something bothered him from recent events.

Just what were those alien thoughts he had when the fog surrounded him? What’s more, why did they feel so right to him even though he knew they weren’t his thoughts in the first place?

He didn’t know, but he prayed that whatever it was didn’t happen again in the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! Another chapter this week!
> 
> Also, I had a bit of fun writing what the Fog was doing to Roy, though... there may have been some side effects on his mind even after Mouse stopped him from losing his mind completely.
> 
> Eh, probably nothing to worry about in the long run, right?
> 
> Also, we meet Snark, and see his relationship with at least Beaver.
> 
> Anyway, next time we start leaving Looking Glass Way, and hopefully get this story moving again.


	7. Preparations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At last, the time has come to leave Looking Glass Way.

Darkness. 

That is what surrounded him as he wandered the world around him, lost in a fog. He couldn't remember who he was or where he came from originally. All he could remember was a girl with wine-red eyes. Sadly, he could remember her face, but not her name or why she was so important to him. 

As his footsteps echoed in the eerily silent realm of Fog and Darkness, his mind became filled with faces he didn't recognize, save one that filled him with nothing but hatred. The kind that could drive a man to kill if he had no other option available. 

He kept walking.

Images continued to fill his mind as he walked, his haze disappearing as new memories came into his head. Memories of being wild and free like a storm, his wings spread out as he flew across the world while everyone feared him. 

He could feel his body change as a mask appeared on his face, and as he took it off to examine it, he saw that it reminded him of a crow- black feathers and a short beak. He slipped it back on his face and found it felt comfortable to wear as he did so before he looked down at his clothes. They were black with feathers coming off his shoulders, and his arms were bare save for the clawed black gloves he had on.

He knew that he shouldn't be wearing this, but it felt right to him, as the thoughts of being free filled him with unbridled joy.

He laughed, enjoying his freedom though he didn't know what he was free of, exactly, and yet, he didn't care. He was the wildest of storms, and he knew that a storm could never be contained once it was loose on the world.

He laughed again, before letting loose a cry that he knew sent shivers down the spines of men and women alike.

_ Ca-CAW! _

~0~

_ Ring! Ring! Ring! _

That was the noise that greeted Roy the next morning, and as the prince let out a groan, it was quite clear he was not used to waking up this early. He turned on his side towards the infernal ringing and wondered what in the devildom was causing the noise. As his tired eyes locked onto a ringing clock, however, he saw that it was five o'clock. Considering that the device wasn't there before, he wondered if someone had snuck into his room to leave it there as a prank. Drowsily, he then sat up and tried to turn it off with magic, only to fail as he was still half-asleep. 

Seeing that magic wouldn't help him, he then decided to pick up the ringing clock to figure out if there was a way to manually turn it off. It didn't take long before he accidentally pressed a switch on the top that stopped the infernal ringing.

"Grayson?" he asked aloud with a yawn before he looked around the room and saw that it wasn't his chambers at the Academy. It was then that he remembered recent events, how he met the Aces of Wonderland and Mouse, before being allowed to sleep in Bandersnatch's spare room for the night. However, as classes back at the Academy usually started at noon, he was certainly not used to waking up this early!

Then again, he did realize that his host didn't want him to oversleep, most likely so that they could enter Wonderland as early as possible before the Fog could get back into Looking Glass Way. 

As he looked for his clothes, he spotted them in the chair that Bandersnatch had sat in the night before, and to Roy's surprise, they were cleaned and pressed as if they were new! Slipping off the comfortable pajamas Bandersnatch had loaned him so he could get dressed, Roy also noticed that his royal crest was immaculately polished as well.

His Royal Crest, the one sign he had that he was a prince. Sure, he needed to work on hiding his identity while in Wonderland as Bandersnatch had said, but as he looked at the crest, he wondered how he could explain it? A badge for his Academy? That was a possibility since it was quite clear that Mouse and the four Wonderlanders most likely didn't know about Saligia. Well, he wasn't sure about the silent Sylvie, but the rest he was positive about. Then again, Bandersnatch figured him out already, and he was sure he hid who he was well enough before back in Saligia.

So, why couldn't he remember that moment despite it being a recent memory?

His thoughts then turned to Sherry, and he knew that she was most likely worried about him after what she witnessed. Of course, he also worried about her and Grayson and what his disappearance might mean for them both. Would Grayson be in serious trouble for failing to protect him? Most likely, he just hoped he could return to Saligia before it was too late.

Then there was Jessica, his beloved. Sure, she had a lot to deal with in his world, considering she was from the Human Realm like Mouse. From having to learn about magic so that she may return to her world to dealing with himself and his fellow S-Rank students all vying for her attention and power. While he knew that he and the others all had a gentleman's agreement to keep the peace at the Headmaster's insistence, he also knew that the others, save maybe Lynt, would try to get Jessica in sneakier ways. Nothing too deplorable, he hoped, but still sneaky.

After all, when someone has the power to amplify magic through physical touch, whole kingdoms could be dismantled if that power fell into the wrong hands.

He couldn't let that happen, not to mention that he loved Jessica deeply, so he felt that he could at least give her a better life than the others might- especially Toa. Not that he was a bad person, he supposed, but as he was Qelsan, he knew that Guy would do anything to keep Jessica out of the hands of Qelsum, or else a war could break out between the two kingdoms yet again.

A knock at the door drew Roy out of his thoughts as he adjusted his cape, followed by a voice.

"Are you ready for the day?" he heard Bandersnatch said, "I have something to talk to you about before breakfast."

"I'll be out in just a moment, Master Bandersnatch," he said politely before walking out of the spare bedroom. 

The common room of Bandersnatch's home was a little different than yesterday, though Roy wasn't quite sure how. But, as he saw Bandersnatch sitting at the kitchen table with a small box in front of him, Roy silently walked over to see what he had to say before he noticed that the warrior was now wearing a collar around his throat with a garnet spade attached to it.

"Good morning," Bandersnatch said as Roy sat across from him, "I hope you slept well?"

"Yes, your spare bed was quite comfortable," Roy said politely, "May I ask about your collar?"

"This collar is my badge of office so to speak," Bandersnatch then said as he fingered the garnet spade with slender fingers that Roy noticed seemed to be slightly sharpened. 

"I see. What did you wish to speak about?" Roy then asked, while also doing his best to be polite to his host.

"I wanted to give you your badge as my Deuce," Bandersnatch then said, opening the small box and pushing it towards Roy, "I had to do a little digging among my things to find it, in all honesty."

"Thank you," Roy said, before looking down to examine the badge- it was silver and had two small garnet spades decorating it, not like the large one around Bandersnatch's neck. 

"Now, I'd like to know something," Bandersnatch then said as he grabbed Roy's attention again, "I know I said yesterday that I'd make you my Deuce while we search for the White Rabbit. However, I would like to know if you'll be taking this temporary arrangement with the utmost seriousness."

Roy looked into Bandersnatch's eyes as he spoke, "In all honesty, Master Bandersnatch, I really do not know what all being a Deuce entails."

"You'll be acting as my second in command, while also learning the trade of being an Ace and due to current circumstances, we will be protecting Miss Mouse from getting into too much trouble. An Alice is a curious sort, after all."

"I see," Roy said seriously as he nodded, "Can you tell me what other dangers Wonderland may hold?"

"Well, there are Jub Jub Birds and other Bandersnatches to worry about in terms of monsters- there used to be Jabberwocks, but as far as I'm aware, they are extinct."

"You're a monster?" Roy said in surprise, "To be honest, I thought you were Human."

"I may look human, but my eyes and claws give away the fact that I'm not," Bandersnatch said, not taking his eyes off of the prince, "However, it's the monsters that look as human as we do that you need to be careful of."

"I appreciate your advice," Roy said, getting the feeling that what Bandersnatch said about human-looking monsters being the most dangerous. He had a point, of course, mainly because if a monster was disguised as a human, they'd be the hardest to sniff out when trouble arises.

"So, will you be my Deuce?" Bandersnatch then asked, "If you do, then put the badge on."

"I accept this duty," Roy then said, taking the badge and pinning it opposite of his royal crest, "After all, if I'm to explore Wonderland, it would be best to do so with those that know the area, correct?"

"Wise words," Bandersnatch said with a smile, before getting up and heading to the stove, "Well then, your first task is to help me make breakfast- you do know how to cook, don't you?"

"I know how to brew tea," Roy said, causing Bandersnatch to sigh.

"Right, I'll be sure to teach you how to do something simple then while we make breakfast for everyone."

Roy blinked, he'd learn to cook food? Well, while he was used to eating at the Academy, he couldn't recall having to make his meals there other than brewing tea for himself, his sister, or even Jessica. Still, he had to admit that the was to learn a few things during his quest, so it would be best to do what he can in that department

Hopefully, cooking wouldn't be too difficult, right?

~0~

Five in the Morning at Beaver's apartment was marked with Mouse getting fully dressed in the clothes she wore yesterday- which were now clean much to her surprise before she went into the common area to find Beaver slumped over a table with a pillow next to her head. As Mouse drew closer, she saw the pillow was covered in lace, which meant that Beaver had been working on lace the whole night.

Mouse decided to wake up her host with a gentle nudge, causing Beaver to grumble as she opened her green eyes and sat up, stretching a bit in the white shirt and green skirt she had on.

"Morning," Beaver grumbled out as she yawned.

"M-Morning," Mouse stuttered out, causing Beaver to look at her and sigh.

"You don't need to stutter around me if you can help it," she said, causing Mouse to flinch before she stuttered again.

"S-Sorry."

"There's nothing to be sorry about either. I don't know what's going on with you, but hopefully, you'll be able to move past it once Wonderland is restored from the fog... that place has a way of changing visitors like you and Roy."

"I-It does?" Mouse said in surprise, earning a nod from Beaver.

"Of course it does! Though the visitors that don't change in the end are extremely rare, even the original Alice a bit changed a little during her visit to Wonderland and the Chesslands."

"Th-The Chesslands?" Mouse asked in confusion.

"Well, I guess that's what you'd call Looking Glass Land, but to us Wonderlanders it's called the Chesslands, never find a hunk of land so evenly divided into squares as that place!"

"H-Have you been there before?" Mouse asked, eager to learn more about the real Wonderland, and as Beaver nodded, she smiled.

"Of course! We stopped there once to resupply during our travels to Joker's Isle- that's where Snark comes from, you see." 

"R-Really? I-I didn't know the Snark's i-island had a name!"

"Of course it does, everything has a name after all," Beaver said as if she was speaking logically, "Even if you don't know it, there's always a name for something or other."

"I-I see," Mouse said, "S-So is Snark th-the boo-"

"We don't talk about that," Beaver said, "Snark... is very uneasy when it comes to his abilities, but he's got better control over most his age."

"Oh... s-sorry," Mouse said, before awkwardly looking around before spotting the lace, "W-were you working on this?"

"Of course, sweetie!" Beaver said, before getting back to work manipulating the various bobbins attached to her project, "I find Lace-making to be quite relaxing after all! It honestly helped me relax a bit early in my Butcher and I's relationship. Though, the fact that it makes me a good bit of coin certainly helps as well."

"I-I see," Mouse said, before rubbing her neck, "I-I like to sew t-to be honest, a-and I u-usually p-practice b-by making d-dolls."

"Oh, your dolls must be adorable!" Beaver said with a grin, and as Mouse shyly nodded, the woman stood up and ran her fingers through her long brown hair. "Well, I best get cleaned up, otherwise Frumious might throw a fit about me not being nice and clean before entering Wonderland. Honestly, we'll be going days without a bath while on the road, I just don't understand why I have to be clean at the start of the journey..."

Mouse simply shrugged as she didn't have an answer to that, and was soon left alone when Beaver went into the bathroom. With nothing else to do, Mouse simply went to get her bag from her room and pack what she could into it for the journey ahead.

~0~

For Sylvie, it was more than just another morning.

For Sylvie, change was in the air, and it was a certainly welcome change at that! Not only had an Alice come to the Aces, but they got to meet someone from an entirely new world as well!

Or was Saligia a new world? It sounded familiar to them, yet they couldn't place how that was so. Perhaps they dreamed of it in the past and forgotten, but if that was true, was Roy just a dream? Or was the dream Wonderland once again?

No, no, it seemed everything was real for the jester, just as it had always been. As they got dressed in their baggy jester costume- the only thing they had that fit their exceptionally tall body, they wondered briefly who they would meet on their journey. Then again, the surprises on a journey were meant to be fun, so that thought quickly went away.

Though, the idea of them, two humans, a boojum, a lady, and a monster was probably the most unusual traveling companions they've had! Certainly more unusual than Mein Herr, and he was certainly a strange fellow who was also from another world!

As Sylvie moved to put on their grinning mask, however, they sighed and looked it over. They couldn't talk while wearing it- they weren't allowed to. So, all they could do was communicate through signs and notes, and the occasional shrill laugh they were allowed to make. Then again, this vow of silence they made upon inheriting the mantle of Ace of Clubs was worth it in the end. Sure, they couldn't remember much of their previous life, other than the fact that they were named for the current rulers of the Land of Clubs, and that their father was a gardener, but other than that, there was nothing.

Sylvie was as big a mystery to themselves, as they were to the others.

One last look at the mirror and Sylvie glanced at their true face for the last time in a long time- neither male nor female on face alone, and while beautiful to look at, Sylvie was about to go on duty and so couldn't let them be distracted by good looks.

Besides, they liked the mask they wore much better than they did their face.

Finally slipping the mask on, Sylvie decided to pack their things, their apartment filled with tricks of their trade and scattered notebooks to write down their ideas no matter how impossible they may seem at a glance. Of course, there was also one thing Sylvie had on them that was their most important treasure- an old violin kept in top condition. Sylvie didn't know why it was important to them, but the music they made with it was beautiful, and they hoped that the violin would one day unlock the mystery of who they truly were.

Man or woman, child or adult, human or hedgehog, it didn't matter to Sylvie as long as they could still play their violin in their spare time.

Picking up their treasured instrument, they soon gently scraped the strings with the bow to test it. Upon feeling pleased that it was still in tune, Sylvie decided to play a short sonata before breakfast was ready.

After all, a little music wouldn't hurt once in a while.

~0~

"Boots to Wonderland, come in Wonderland," Snark said as he spoke into the microphone. Once again, he was trying to see if there was anyone still hidden in Wonderland that somehow escaped the Fog's effects. He had found the radio in Looking Glass Way near the door to Wonderland- the few times it appeared anyway, and ever since, he held out hope that someone out there somewhere was trying to survive the fog despite being lost.

If that was true, he had to give whoever delivered the old radio some hope.

"Boots to Wonderland, Boots to Wonderland, please come in Wonderland!" he said again, getting slightly desperate as he tried a new frequency, the tech-headed and youngest Ace of Hearts in Wonderland's history just wanting an answer after four years of radio silence.

_ "Come in... Boots... Come in, Boots..."  _ A voice then crackled to life from the speaker, causing Snark to smile as his message was received at last.

"Boots here," Snark then said, sticking to his handle when using the radio, "Who are you? Do you copy?"

_ "I copy... I think. I don't know who or where I am. I... found this device when I heard a voice coming from it. " _

"Got it," Snark said with a smile, "You have no idea how happy I am to hear another voice, though, you need a handle for me to call you by... hmm... how about Bellman?"

_ "Bellman?"  _ the voice then asked in confusion,  _ "Why that name?" _

"It's the name of someone I knew when I was a kid," Snark said as he remembered the ship's captain from a certain hunting expedition, "He always tried to make the crew of our ship feel some hope, and well, you've certainly given me hope about saving Wonderland!"

_ "Wonderland? Is that where I am?" _

"Yeah," Snark said with a nod, "It's my home, and if you're contacting me that means I've hit the right frequency in contacting it! Can you tell me anything about where you are?"

_ "It's dark and foggy... and I feel like I'm losing my mind, Boots. Can you talk to me for a little while?" _

"Of course, Bellman," Snark said happily, "Though, Band's going to want us to gather for Breakfast soon, but I have good news- We found a way to combat against the Fog, which means we'll be able to find and rescue you as we go through Wonderland!"

_ "That does sound like good news, I think. How do you combat this Fog?" _

"We have an Alice on our side, and she can restore things lost in the fog covering Wonderland! Once Big Sis gets to where you are, the Fog should just clear away, in theory at least."

_ "I see,"  _ said Bellman,  _ "Hold on, I think I hear something coming, I... I don't feel safe! I need to get out of here! I'll try contacting you when I find a safe place to hide, ok?" _

"Yeah, go find someplace safe, over and out," Snark said, choking back tears a bit as the line went dead. Still, he had managed to finally contact someone after the radio appeared four years ago. He wasn't sure if it was because of his tinkering or because it was a sign that someone was still in Wonderland, but he still held hope that maybe, just maybe, his home could be saved from the Wretched Fog.

With no one to talk to, and him realizing he stayed up all night once again, Snark yawned and was about to go to sleep when he saw the clock.

Five in the morning, the time Band had said to get up and get ready to go before breakfast. Sighing, he went to get dressed in the new clothes that Looking Glass Way had provided for him- a khaki jacket with tons of pockets to put stuff in, sturdy shorts that he felt were dagger proof like Beaver's coat, and a white collared shirt with a gold vest. Completing his look with a brown tie and a golden heart pin to keep it in place, Snark looked himself over in the mirror and hummed in thought.

"You know, I could probably do with shorter hair," he said, realizing that in the past five years, his hair had gotten a little long, and so grabbed a pair of scissors from the kitchen and using his mirror as a guide, snipped away until it was shorter. Though the final result was messy, he had to admit that it looked pretty good on him, in his opinion.

Though, Ma Beaver would probably do a little touching up before they left, mainly because she was much better trained at styling hair than he was.

He was about to start packing when he smelled food with his sharp nose, and the boojum- for that was what he truly happened to be, headed for his door and opened it to see Bandersnatch and Roy set the large table that had appeared in Looking Glass Way's common area, and also caught a whiff of bacon and pancakes.

Coming out of his room, the teenager saw Sylvie exit their room, as well as Beaver and Mouse, enter the area as well. He noticed that Syl's tunic now bore a deep blue clover on it, while Beaver wore a magnetic badge displaying a green diamond over her forest-green dagger-proof coat. Of course, he didn't say anything at first as he moved to the table and sat down, silently waiting for everyone to be seated and for Beaver to say thanks for the food before they dug in. He tuned out her words of thanks, though, as he instead became focused on Roy and Mouse sitting next to each other. Sure, he could see that Mouse was uncomfortable about something, but even he wondered if it was because Big Bro looked like a prince in his clothes.

Once the prayer to the Reverend was given, and Beaver deemed their meal ready to eat, he decided to listen in on their conversation as he enjoyed breakfast.

"Miss Mouse, is something wrong?" Roy asked, causing Mouse to flinch and place a hand over the pendant around her neck.

Why did Roy have to be so formal all the time? Couldn't he talk like a normal person?

"I-It's n-nothing to worry about," Mouse said quietly, though Snark's sharp ears could easily pick it up. Even though he was fifteen, he could see that there was something wrong with Big Sis, and there was something off about Big Bro as well, since it seemed like something about his eyes were off- like they were missing something, but he couldn't figure out what it was.

Roy didn't push the subject either, but he did seem to have something on his mind as he ate his pancakes. Was he secretly crushing on Big Sis? Or was there another girl on his mind?

Well, there was only one way to find out, for Snark.

"Hey, Big Bro, " he then said, "Do you have any girlfriends back in Salad-land?"

Sure, he knew the word he used was probably wrong, but he had trouble pronouncing Saligia. Sure, he listened to Roy pronounce it correctly, once, but that didn't help him very much.

Still, the way Roy's eyes widened followed by him blushing was worth getting smacked on the back of the head by Band as Beaver spoke.

"Snark," she said sternly, "That is not something you should come out and ask a person."

"I-It's alright," Roy stammered out, "A-And I do not have a girlfriend, as Snark put it."

"But you are thinking about a girl, right?" Snark said teasingly, ducking another smack from Band as the red-eyed warrior tried to punish him again for his improper actions.

"Well, yes..." Roy said a bit sheepishly, "Her name is Jessica and I'm in love with her."

"Sounds like you want her to be your girlfriend," Snark then teased, while also hoping he was playing the role of little brother perfectly as possible. Roy stammered again, this time not even Snark's sharp ears could make out what he was trying to say before Sylvie passed a note to Roy which he read aloud.

"Things may change in Wonderland?" Roy asked, clearly confused, however, Syl would not provide any answers as they were instead stuffing their grinning mask with pieces of pancake. Snark always wondered how Syl's solid mask allowed for them to eat and drink, but as Syl was always silent, and refused to even give him a note with the answer, he was left to question things about the jester.

Still, Snark watched as Roy looked to Mouse, who was now looking away again and messing with her pendant. Snark didn't know what was wrong with her, but he did wonder if she was quietly crushing on Roy. Unfortunately, he wouldn't get to ask since everyone's attention was on the back wall of the common area as a new door had appeared, one that Snark hadn't seen in four years.

A black and white door with all four symbols for the Aces- Spade, Diamond, Club, and Heart. Snark recognized the door very well, as did the other Aces of Wonderland, though going by the confused looks on Roy and Mouse's faces, he knew what question they were going to ask.

Band was the one to answer.

"That is the door to Wonderland itself," he said with a hint of hope in his voice, "Though it's normally much smaller than this, I assume something has changed to make it the size of a normal door."

"I see," Roy said, apparently choosing not to question the strangeness. Maybe he was starting to go as mad as everyone in Wonderland, or he just wasn't awake enough to deal with it- Snark didn't really know, but whatever the case everyone decided to finish their breakfast in silence.

As the walrus said, the time had come.

~0~

Roy waited outside of Bandersnatch's room with a pack on his shoulders. This was mainly because the warrior still needed to pack a few things for the trip ahead, and even though Roy felt he could take care of himself, he had to admit that traveling with Mouse and the Aces was to his benefit.

As he waited on Bandersnatch and the others, Roy decided to go back over what all was packed in the bag his host had provided him- a change of clothes, a sleeping bag, a tent, a canteen, some rations with some proper eating utensils, and also a sharp knife. While he knew that the knife would be useful in times his magic wouldn't do to help the situation, he was honestly hoping that he wouldn't have to use it outside of moments of self-defense.

Not to mention that he didn't know to what extent his magic would take him in Wonderland, especially with his sigillum arcanum earring limiting his power. All in all, he had to be careful in Wonderland, as not only did he not truly know the territory he was about to enter, but he had to possibly learn new skills to help him.

As he was thinking about how to handle upcoming ventures, Roy heard a door open and looked up to see Mouse exiting Beaver's apartment. She only had her messenger bag at her side and the clothes on her back, but he also noticed that she seemed happier than she did during breakfast.

Smiling back at her, he then greeted her. "Greetings, Miss Mouse. You seem glad about something."

"Yeep!" Mouse squeaked out before catching herself and nodding towards the prince, "I-I mean, y-yes, I re-really am!"

"Any particular reason why?" Roy politely asked while also trying to get to know Mouse a bit better. It wouldn't do to be in the dark about his traveling companions after all, even if their time together might be short in the end.

"Oh, um, w-well, when I was l-little, I always wanted to go to Wonderland!" Mouse said with a smile, and for some reason, Roy couldn't help but feel happy for her. True, she wasn't his beloved Jessica, nothing could change that, but there was something about Mouse that seemed interesting to him. Maybe because it was due to the fact she was from the Human Realm, or maybe it was because of something else he didn't know. Either way, he wanted to know more about this girl.

"How-However," Mouse then said sadly, "I had to g-give up on g-going to Wonderland a f-few years ago."

"What happened?" Roy asked, only for Mouse to hold onto her pendant again and shake her head.

"N-No need to th-think about the past," she said with a sad smile, "Th-Though, I'm a l-little nervous about what we-we'll find there."

"I'm sure it will be interesting," Roy said with a smile as he tried to cheer Mouse up, "And if you're nervous about your powers being able to save Wonderland, just remember that I'll be helping you out for as long as possible, and if you want to learn, then I'll be happy to teach you magic as well."

"Th-Thank you again f-for teaching me," Mouse stuttered out, "B-but I'm n-not sure I'd do well... M-Magic doesn't exist in my world."

"I heard as much from my friend, Jessica," Roy then said with a smile, "However, you do have potential with your ability to restore things, and I'd be happy to explore any other applications it might have as well."

"R-Really?" Mouse said, and with a nod from Roy, gave a more sincere smile towards him as she chuckled, "Th-thank you! I-I'll try my best n-not to mess anything up!"

"Mistakes are a part of learning," Roy said, going into teacher mode a bit, "As your professor in magic, I believe that you can do anything you put your mind to if you so wished."

"B-But re-restoring a whole world is a pr-pretty big responsibility," Mouse said quietly, "Wh-what if I mess s-something up?"

"I'm sure you will do fine, Miss Mouse," Roy said with a smile, "And you're not alone, either- Masters Bandersnatch, Snark, Miss Beaver, and Sylvie will be with us as well."

"Th-That's true..." Mouse said, before giggling a bit, "I-I bet y-your sister must be pr-proud to have you as her brother!"

"Indeed," Roy said with a smile as he thought of Sherry and his home of Saligia. Sure, he knew he was in for a journey, but he also knew that the sooner he returned home, the better. He had many things to do back in Saligia- teaching, studying, and...

Strange, he couldn't remember what else he had to do. Not to mention that now that he thought about it, he still felt like something was missing, but couldn't figure out what it was. Did he somehow lose part of his memory during his transfer to Looking Glass Way? Sure, he could remember his life at the Academy, but now that he really thought about it, it seemed that there were parts of his memory that was just plain gone.

That was something to certainly worry about. 

"S-Sorry," Mouse then stuttered out, and Roy realized he had been frowning as she continued to speak, "I-I didn't mean to m-make you an-angry."

"Why would I be angry at you, Miss Mouse?" Roy asked, legitimately confused, only for Mouse to blush and look away.

"B-Because s-sometimes pe-people gets mad at me wh-when I say something that ends up hu-hurting them," Mouse said sadly, "S-So it's pr-probably better if I stay quiet."

"I'm not hurt," Roy said politely as he smiled down at Mouse, "I'm just worried about how my friends and family are fretting over me back in Saligia."

"H-How many friends d-do you have?" Mouse then asked, causing Roy to blink as he answered her.

"Just three," he said, "Master Lynt is my closest friend at the Royal Academy of Concordia, as is Master Rio Voleri, while my newest friend would have to be Jessica Scott."

"W-What are they like?" Mouse asked, but wouldn't get an answer as at that moment, the Aces left their apartments fully packed and ready to go. Though, Beaver and Snark left the latter's room as Beaver had to touch up the cat-crow boy's hacked up hair as best as she could. While the result made Snark look like a younger version of Guy Avari, save for the warm look in his golden eyes instead of the cold red ones he was used to, Roy had to admit that everyone looked rather nice for traveling. 

Bandersnatch was in the clothes he had on when they met- leather trousers, boots, and that furred vest he felt was proper attire, along with his leather collar with the garnet spade attached. He also had his longsword on his hip, the garnet spade pommel glinting in the mysterious light of Looking Glass Way.

Sylvie was wearing their usual baggy jester costume, though it seemed a little more formal than before with the addition of a large, navy blue clover on their chest, standing out against the paler blue and silver diamond pattern making up the tunic. While he couldn't see any weapons on the jester, Roy felt that the mysterious and unreadable clown was probably well prepared in case of trouble.

Beaver was wearing a deep green coat over a white shirt and pale green skirt with black heels, and a gold badge depicting a green diamond on her chest. Roy had heard the coat was dagger-proof when he asked about it while packing with Bandersnatch, and that according to him, it suited the woman since a medic needed all the protection they could get, not to mention that such a coat might be useful back in Saligia if it could be replicated at all. She also had on a pair of brown gloves decorated with a pair of green gems, though what these were for, he didn't know.

As for Snark, he was dressed like he was about to go on Safari with his jacket and pants covered in many pockets, as well as his gold waistcoat and a brown tie decorated with a golden heart pin on the knot itself. However, as he examined the cat-crow boy, he also noticed that he had something holstered on his belt that he knew full well was dangerous as he spoke out.

"Pistols?" he asked aloud, "Pardon me for asking this, but isn't it dangerous for a child to wield such things? Especially if they're magical..."

"Despite Snark's age, those pistols are the traditional weapons of the Ace of Hearts," Bandersnatch said as he got close to Roy, causing the prince to turn to see the rough-looking man standing right behind him, "And despite his age, Snark is an excellent marksman- an outright prodigy at fifteen years of age."

"Prodigy or not," Roy argued, "Magical Weapons where I'm from are only to be used by those trained to use them, they are not to be used for the public, especially children! They are to be used in the suppression of beasts, not to play games!"

"Big Bro," Snark said before Bandersnatch could argue, "My pistols use ordinary bullets, so I have to carry them around in a magic pocket, there's not anything magic about them."

"But you're still a child!" Roy said, earning a glare from Snark.

"Maybe to you, but I'm considered an adult for my species," he said coldly and bitterly as Beaver looked at him in worry.

"Snark, go calm down for a moment, ok?" she then said, before looking to Roy, "As for you, you might not be my Deuce, but please, for the sake of everyone  _ do not antagonize Snark. _ It will end badly for everyone."

"What do you mean by that?" Roy asked while Mouse looked to Beaver and the cat-crow boy in question. Roy thought that Mouse might know something, but Bandersnatch pulled out his pocket watch as Sylvie patted Snark's shoulder in silence.

"It's time to leave, everyone," he said as he put his watch away, causing Roy to look at him and see the serious look in his eyes while the rest of the group seemed to be waiting for something.

It was then, that Bandersnatch pulled out a silver key from his pocket and walked towards the door to Wonderland, and after a hesitant moment, took a deep breath and unlocked the door, before quickly opening it up.

On the other side, was a thick wall of fog, and for a moment was afraid what had happened when opening Snark's door would repeat. However, when he noticed that the fog remained where it was, he was about to speak when Mouse started running towards the Fog, and stopped for a moment, the fog actually being repelled from her.

Then, she took a small step forward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is it, the last chapter of 2020!~ 
> 
> Anywho, I got to admit that most of this chapter was written by the seat of my pants since it was supposed to flow like this in my notes:
> 
> Roy waking up> Roy getting his badge> Breakfast> Post Breakfast talk between Mouse and Roy> Bandersnatch saying it's time to go.
> 
> What I ended up adding, was the bit at the start, the POV segments for Mouse, Sylvie, and Snark, and the convo about Snark's guns.
> 
> Also, between this chapter and the last chapter, Roy's route finally dropped, which may have inspired the bit at the beginning. Though, what that will mean might be revealed later...
> 
> Next time, we'll FINALLY enter Wonderland. Though, I have to wonder what sort of trouble our heroes will get into along the way?


End file.
